


In the Mood

by DesiredXDreams



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alive Grisha Yeager, Angst, Bottom Eren Yeager, Dead Carla Yeager, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Grisha Yeager's Bad Parenting, Grisha is a Dick, M/M, Slow Build, Smut, Top Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), armin arlert is a cutie, best of the big band, big band music, confused!Eren, confused!mikasa, medstudent!eren, musician!Levi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-18
Updated: 2018-05-13
Packaged: 2018-11-15 16:44:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 29,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11235057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesiredXDreams/pseuds/DesiredXDreams
Summary: When happiness is lost, how far will you go to get it back?





	1. Memories

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic so I hope you all enjoy! :)
> 
> A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with playing jazz or jazz-influenced popular music and which was popular during the Swing Era from the mid-1930s until the late 1940s.
> 
> Also shoutout to my Beta katyblueyes101!!

_The blurred figures danced to the music gracefully even with the light drizzle. The wind blew the trees and it almost seemed like they were dancing too. The colors red, orange, and yellow staining the ground as the trees lost their leaves._

_The water rippled slightly as a family of ducks swam by. He couldn’t take his eyes off the water as it reflected the orange and yellow sky. It was a beautiful sight.  
As he turned he saw a familiar figure dancing towards him. The face was blurry but somehow, he felt like he knew them. He wanted to run to them but he found that he couldn’t. That’s when he heard it. The music. _

_Under a gazebo in the middle of the park were about 10 figures with instruments in their hands. They shimmered in the light and it was like a mirage with the mist of the rain. The music they made left him in a trance, he wanted to run up to them, ask them what that song was called but he couldn’t.  
That’s when the figure took his hand. _

_Who was this figure._

_“Come dance with me, Eren.” the figure said._

_He could tell that the figure was smiling, that soft smile that made his heart hurt._

_“What is this music?” he asked the figure._

_The figure started to take him where the music was coming from yet stopped._

_“Why, that is big band music sweetie.” the figure kneeled down so that it was eye height with the child. “Special people get together and make music.”_

_“What makes them special?” he asked. This figure, he knows this figure but who?_

_“Because they have a gift, the gift of making music. Not everyone can do what they do and that’s what makes them special.” the figure said as it moved his bangs behind his ear._

_“Am I special too?” he asked with tears in his eyes. Why was he crying?_

_“Of course you are. Nobody can make me smile like you do, and to me that makes you special.” the figure stood and ushered him to step on its shoes so he could dance along._

_They danced for what seemed like an eternity. He nuzzled his face into the figures stomach and breathed deeply._

_“I want to make music too, can I?”_

_He wished he never asked. The somewhat bright sky turned dark and the rain stopped. All the other figures started to walk away and the music stopped. Why did the music stop?_

_He looked up to the figure and saw tear in its eyes. He went to back away and his shoulders were caught abruptly by its hands. The wind picked up and all the leaves seemed to disappear._

_The figure dropped to its knees and looked at him._

_“No Eren, you mustn’t. You can’t tell a soul that I brought you here alright? Do you understand me!” the figure panicked. It got up and began walking away._

_“Wait.. don’t go.. Please..” he begged for it. He began to run yet it did no good. The figure was walking into the darkness._

_“Wait! I won’t tell anyone! Don’t leave me!” he fell to the ground crying. He knew this figure._

_“Mom don’t go..”_

  
**Beeeep Beeeep Beeeep**

He jolted awake. Tears staining his face and his body trembling. He didn’t want to move yet the annoying sound his alarm was making was encouraging enough.  
He reached across his bed to his nightstand to shut off his alarm.

'5:30.. It should be a crime to wake up this early..' he thought as he reach above his head for a very needed stretch.

He went to rub his eyes and was reminded of the dream by his dried tears.

“It’s been awhile since I had that dream..” he chuckled. “More like nightmare”

He then pulled off his covers and shifted so he was sitting at the edge with his elbows on his knees and head in his palms. He always woke up like this when he had that nightmare. It always left his shaking and sad. He looked across his somewhat clean room and looked at the picture on his dresser.

“Sorry, mom.” he smiled at her picture. She wouldn’t want him frowning over something like this.

“Eren! Are you up. We have to leave soon so come down when you’re done packing.” his father yelled.

“Oh shit.” he bolted from his bed only to end up on the floor. “Dammit why did i leave my suitcase right next to my bed.” he groaned.

“Well since i’m already down here.” he picked up a white t-shirt that he landed on and pulled it over his head while frantically trying to find a pair of jeans he didn’t pack. “Jeans.. jeans.. aha!” he then stood up to pull on a pair of blue jeans that he found under his bed.

Today is the day he moves in at Sina University. He should be happy yet somehow the feeling of emptiness crept in. This should be the greatest day of his life, he worked hard in high school to get all A’s and he even got the honor of being salutatorian. Sina University was his dream college and yet he felt like it wasn’t right.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Now’s not the time to be thinking that way. He got up from his bed and went to open the window. It was still dark out and he loved it. The peace and quiet. He was really gonna miss Shiganshina. The way everyone knew each other, everyone was family here. He would also miss the way the morning dew would cling to everything as he made his way to school or how he would go down to the duck pond and watch them flock over when he threw bread.

**Bzzt Bzzt**

He was pulled out of his thoughts at the sound. 'Who is texting me at this time?' he thought as he made his way to his desk.

_5:37 am_

Mikasa: Are you up?

He sighed. “No surprise there.”

Eren: yes just got up. Good morning

Mikasa: Good. I didn’t want you to be late. Good morning to you too. I got here yesterday so I will see you when you get here. Love you

He sat his phone down, he didn’t feel like replying.

He sighed for the thousandth time that morning and started to gather everything he needed. He packed most of it last night so all that was left was the rest of his clothes and his toothbrush and toothpaste.

“Ok ok clothes, check. Laptop, check. Books….. Shit! Where are my books?” he ran out of his room and down the stairs two steps at a time. He turned the corner into the living room where he frantically searched each bookshelf for his medical books.

“Shit shit shit.” he cursed as he looked under the couch.

“Ahem.” his father stood over him. “I did you a favor and put your books in the car. Hurry up and grab your bags so we can leave.”

“Y-yes father.” his father turned to walk into the kitchen.

Eren stood up and started to walk towards the stairs to collect his bags.

“Oh and Eren did you hear from your fiance today.” he said as the packed some apples into a bag.

“Yes father.”

“It’s a good thing you will both be going to the same school. She can make sure you don’t stray from your studies.” he said with a displease look on his face.

“Y-yes father..” he said as he made his way up the stairs.

He slowly shut the door to his room and slid down to the floor. “He always says things like that.. But why does it still bother me?”

Ever since his mother died he tried everything to make his father proud. He excelled in school, he agreed to this arranged marriage, and he’s going to become a doctor. What else can he do to make him happy?

He slowly got up and went to his dresser. Atop was a picture of his mother, she was smiling then. He missed his mother's smile, he wish he could see her dance and sing and smile when she did almost anything. She would sing when she made cookies and dance when she cleaned. He missed that.

Then the thought of his nightmare replaced those thoughts, a frown overcoming his face. His father never allowed music to be played in the house. Music was for people who didn’t want to do anything with their life. He believe that his son should stay away from it and focus on his studies.

That’s what he wanted and that’s what Eren did.

He would do anything to make his father happy, even if that meant giving up his own happiness.

“Big Band music.. Huh.” he sighed and went to pick up his bags and walk out into the hallway. “What was that song called?” he whispered to himself. He couldn’t even remember the tune yet if he heard it he assumed he would know it instantly.

“Eren!” his father yelled from the front door.

“Coming father!” he yelled back as he rushed down the stairs and out the door.

He went to pack everything into the trunk of his father’s black Camaro. The drive was about 5-6 hours and check in was at 11? Or was it 12? His mind couldn’t function at this hour without caffeine.

He then shut the trunk and made his way over to the passenger side of the car and slid in. His father soon got in and backed out of the driveway and down the road.

'Bye house. Seen you soon.' he thought as sleep started to overcome his senses.

**Bzzt Bzzt**

“What?” he asked and he went to fish his phone out of his back pocket.

“Mikasa is such a good fiance if she keeps checking up on you like this. Tell her I said hello” his father said without even a sideways glance.

_6:04 am_

Armin: AHHH are you excited! I’m excited! Can’t wait to see you roomie :D

Eren chuckled

He was going to be rooming with his best friend Armin. They have been best friends since they were in diapers and the only reason why they were allowed to continue to be friends was because Armin is also a straight A student. He was the school's valedictorian and of course he would get accepted into one of the top schools.

Eren: haha yeah i’m excited! Hey did you get your schedule yet or do we get it when we check in?

Armin: You get it at check in lol

Eren: alright thanks! Can’t wait to see ya!

He then put his phone down and stared out the window.

“Ahem”

“Oh s-sorry, no that was Armin.” he looked down at his hands in his lap.

“Oh yes he is your roommate right? I’m glad you’re sharing one with him and not some uneducated art major or something of the sorts.”

He hummed and went to stare out the window again. He hated when his father talked that way but he would never say that to him. He didn’t believe any of what his father says about them, he actually believed they were gifted and he sometimes wished he could be that talented.

He let his head fall against the window and closed his eyes wishing sleep would overcome him. 'How did that song go? I want to hear it again..'

As his father began to talk about his rules and what he expects of him while he’s there for the 10th time, he began to wonder what kind of life he would have for the next couple years at Sina University.


	2. The song

The ride to Sina was long and uneventful. The only upside was the change of landscape, rows of mountains covered in multicolored trees and the crossing over of large rivers that shined in the afternoon sun to flat lands that led to building after building. 

The moments Eren would stare out the window would be the ones his father would suggest playing road games. Eren thought it would be fun at first but soon thought the opposite when his father’s idea of road games included ‘what muscle am I pointing to’ or ‘Which organ system am I describing.’

Thankfully the ‘fun’ had to end when they pulled up to the one and only Sina University.

“Woah..” Eren’s mouth dropped at the sight of the school. The multiple buildings stretched for what seemed like miles. Each building had this lively feel to it and Eren couldn’t be more excited.

They circled the school till they got to the dorm houses and from the look of it they came just a tad late. What would’ve been crazy college kids rushing to get all their stuff to their rooms is just a couple cars and the last of the students returning to get the rest of their belongings.

“I thought you said check in was at 12.” his father said without a side glance.

“Well I thought it was..” Eren said as he looked out the window again.

“You should know rather than assume.”

“Yes father.”

They soon parked the car and began unpacking Eren’s bags from the car. Eren looked around and wondered where he was supposed to check in at. He had no idea where to go. ‘Why didn’t I stay during the whole orientation’ he thought with a loud sigh.

“There’s a desk over by the building.” his father said as he grabbed the last bag from the trunk.

Eren walked across the parking lot to a small table in front of one of the dorms. There was a girl on her phone sitting behind it. Eren’s first impression of her was that she had really pretty hair. ‘Does she have red hair? Maybe reddish blonde?’

“Hello!” The girl shouted as he approached the desk. “You’re here for check in right?” she asked with a wide grin.

“Um yes I am” he laughed and he ran his fingers through his hair.

“Ok cool! What’s your name?” she then went to a stack of files to which he guessed had all the student information.

“Eren Yeager.” she gave a quick nod and began searching through the folders.

“Aha! Here ya go Mr. Yeager!” she then handed him 2 pieces of paper. One had his room number and roommate info with a key taped to the bottom while the other one had his class schedule.

“Thank you so much.” He smiled at her and turned to go back to the car but was startled when his father was right behind him with his bags.

“You don’t need me from here on out right?” his father said in the same monotone voice as always.

“U-um no I think I got it from here.” his father nodded and began walking back towards the car.

“Bye to you too..” Eren whispered.

Eren picked up both his backpacks and swung them on each shoulder and then took both of his suitcases and began walking to his dorm building. He had a hard time trying to find which one was which because they didn’t have any names or numbers on them. He walked past the 3rd building and came up to the 4th one and realized that this one had to be it.

As he entered the building he had a shocking realization that he had to walk up the stairs to the 5th floor.

“Of course it has to be on the 5th floor..” he sighed. He walked up the gruelling steps till the sign on the wall indicated that this was his floor. He walked down the hallway and looked down at the piece of paper with his room number and key.

“513, 515, 517, 519!” he then unlocked the door and shoved all his stuff inside.

“Thank god.” he said as he tossed his backpacks.

The room was nicer than he thought. He walked in and noticed to his left there was a little kitchen like area with a mini fridge, microwave, small stove, sink and two cabinets. He then turned to walk into what he guessed was like a mini living room.

“I guess Armin was here.” he chuckled.

In the room was a Armin’s 42” Tv and Tv stand plus his futon and side table. He should really thank Armin later cause the room would’ve looked bare without his stuff.

Looking around some more he noticed 3 rooms, 2 to his left and one to his right. He began walking to the one on the right and opened the door and stepped in. Armin must’ve claimed the room already because of his mountain of books on his desk and multiple marine life pictures on the walls.

Eren smiled to himself and walked out making his way to the other doors. He opened the first one and walked into the bathroom. He ran out and went to his bags deciding that he should put his toiletries in there now since why not.

After putting his stuff in the bathroom he walked back to pick up his bags and walked into his room. The room was a little smaller than his room back home, it had a bed at one corner, a desk at the back wall, a little chair, a dresser and a small closet without a door.

“Nice.” he said as he sat his stuff down. “Welp. Time to unpack.”

* * *

It took him About an hour to unpack everything. It would’ve been done quicker but he had to do a little rearranging to get everything the way he wants. The desk was now right in front of the window and the bed on the opposite side of the room. 

**Bzzt Bzzt Bzzt**

Eren stopped making his bed and looked around the room for his phone. He knew he heard it but where was it? He began frantically searching all the drawers in his desk and then moved to his dresser. Of course he would be the one to pack his phone with his boxers and socks.

_2:13 pm_

Armin: Hey did you go to the room yet????

Eren: Yeah I just finished unpacking. Where are you?

Eren sat his phone on his desk and began to walk out of his room to take a piss when his phone vibrated again. He turned around and opened his messages again.

Armin: I’m walking around campus :P

Eren chuckled. ‘Of course he would’

Armin: You should come down and meet me at the Science building! :D

Eren: I’ll be there soon lol

Eren laughed to himself and then went to take the piss he so needed. After, he gathered up his phone and key and walked out of his dorm room and walked down the hallway towards the dreaded stairs.

* * *

 “Where the fuck am I.” Eren groaned as he, once again, passed the English building for the 3rd time. He really wished he stayed the whole time at orientation cause he’s lost.

“Hey you!” A high-pitched yet familiar voice said behind him.

He turned around and realized that it was the girl from before.

“Oh hey.” relief washed over him at the sight of her.

“Do you need help? You seem lost.” she laughed

“Um yeah can you tell me how to get to the Science building?” 

“Yeah sure, keep going straight till you hit the gym and make a left and then a right at the math building and it’ll be on your left!”

“Thank you again.” he said as his cheeks turned the slightest shade of pink.

“No problem! By the way my name is Petra!” she grabbed his hand and shook it.  “I’m a junior here sooo if you need anymore help or advice just ask me ok?” she then took out a piece of gum and popped it in her mouth, she then used the gum wrapper to write her number on it and handed it to Eren.

“Oh uh thanks.” he took the wrapper and put it in his pocket.

“Well I gotta go but i’ll see you around!” she said as she turned to walk away.

He waved at her even though she didn’t see it and turned to follow her directions. As he made his way towards the gym a guy with blond hair and huge, huge muscles. Eren couldn’t help but look at him, the way his muscles moved underneath his grey shirt or how his biceps popped when he went to comb through his luscious golden hair. Eren didn’t realize he was staring until the guy was walking right by him. He snapped out of it and began walking until he turned around and looked right at the guys ass.

‘Damn he has a great ass… wait what?’ Eren shook his head to clear his thoughts. The last thing he wanted was for people to see him staring at a guys ass and think he’s gay. He can’t be gay, he’s marrying a girl for crying out loud. He was just looking at the guys shorts, maybe he’ll even ask him where he got them. Yeah that’s it.

He continued his walk to the Science building when he noticed a lot of people sitting in the grassy areas of the school. There were people with headphones in their ears working on stuff on their laptops, people playing Frisbee and people just hanging out chillin. Eren hoped that he made more friends so they can do stuff like that. Just hangout.

His thoughts were interrupted by what he assumed were the music majors playing their instruments by a small tree. He didn’t exactly know what instrument was what but he knew that one of them had a guitar. They all harmonized together perfectly and he found himself stopping and just enjoying the sound they made.

Eren wished he could do that. Make music that would make people want to stop and listen. Not to make money but to just brighten up their day. If he did play an instrument which one would he choose? He wondered how many instruments there were in the world and would he be able to play each one just once. He wanted to know which one sounded like. Did it make a low pitched noise or did it sound like a garbage truck backing up.

As soon as he started walking again he suddenly met face to face with the ground. “What the fuck man.” He tried to get up but then realized that someone was actually hugging him. He looked over his shoulder and realized it was Armin.

“Eren!! Sorry I knocked you over I just got soo excited!” Armin said as he got up and reached out a hand. Eren took it and once he got up he dusted off his jeans.

“Don’t worry about it.” he chuckled at his friends excitement. “Armin!” He then lunged forward and knocked Armin over to the ground and hugged him the same way Armin did to him.

They both laughed for a couple seconds and adjusted themselves before getting up and walking back to the dorms.

“So how was the drive?” Armin asked.

“Ugh.”

“Haha that bad huh.” Armin said as he smoothed out his button up.

“Yeah. I can’t tell you how happy I am to get out of that house. I swear the only conversation my dad and I have is only about school stuff or what I should be doing at that moment.” He sighed.

“Well at least here you’ll have a little bit of freedom.” Armin shrugged.

“I doubt it. It wouldn’t surprise me if he put a tracking device on me.”

Armin laughed at the thought.

They both made their way back to the dorm making small talk until Eren stopped abruptly.

“What’s wrong?” Armin asked as Eren moved behind him.

“Please please pleeaasseee tell me she didn’t see me. She isn’t coming over here is she?” He asked as he tried to move Armin to a nearby tree.

“Who are you talking about?”

Armin looked around to see who Eren could be referring to when he saw her. She wasn’t looking in their direction so he assumed Eren was safe.

“No Mikasa didn’t see you.” He laughed. “She isn’t even looking over here.”

“Ok umm how about we go a different way?” Eren was now trying to sneak them both around a very thin tree which would make it very obvious that they were hiding there.

“Yeah ok we can go around this building.” Armin said as he grabbed Eren’s arm and led him around to the other side of the building.

“So why are you trying to avoid her?”

“I just don’t wanna deal with her today.” He sighed. “My dad asked her to keep an eye on me and I really don’t want her to ask me a million questions like if I ate today or some shit like that.”

Mikasa has always been kinda clingy, even from the start. Eren met Mikasa around the age of 10 but she wouldn’t really want to play with him much because Armin was around. She didn’t not like him, she was jealous that he knew Eren better than she did.

When the arrangement was made Mikasa was so happy. She would walk Eren to his classes even more and do whatever she could to help him out even when he didn’t want it. Eren disliked that about her, the way she would try and mother him.

“So.. how are you guys?” Armin asked with a little hesitation.

Armin knew how Eren felt about her. Armin was there the day Grisha told Eren that he would be getting married to Mikasa. Eren only nodded and led Armin and himself out of the kitchen and back into his room. Once they got back in Eren turned to Armin and cried into his shirt for what seemed like hours. As time went on Eren accepted it but he wasn’t happy about it. He was only marrying her for his dad. He didn’t want to hurt her feelings because it was obvious that she felt more for him but he just couldn’t return it. Armin knew that, there wasn’t anything in his life that Armin did not know and it vice versa. They were best friends after all, how could they not open up to each other.

“We’re good I guess..”

Eren didn’t mind when they talked or walked around in public together but he didn’t like her constant trying to have contact with him. She would either try and hold his hand or hug him all the time. He would let her of course but it made him kinda uncomfortable. The worst was when they would kiss. He felt horrible cause he wouldn’t feel anything, it was nothing for him. They shared a few long kisses, he wouldn’t exactly call them passionate but it was for a long time and they never went any further but now that they were in college and so far from home she might ask for more.

“Well.. that’s good.” Armin said. “Oh! Did you get your class schedule!” Armin said.

“Yeah I did. I’ll show you when we get back.” Eren smiled, thankful that it was Armin who changed the subject.

“Alright cool! I’m so excited to start! I went to check out the marine biology lab and it was just wow and…..”

Eren stopped moving.

“Eren?” Armin said but Eren didn’t listen. All he could hear was the faint sound of a certain song.

He took off running in the direction of the sound. That was it, the song he longed to hear again. He ran past people and ignored the calling of his name. It didn’t matter, what mattered was that he find out where that was coming from.

Images from his past came into his mind. He needed to know the name of that song. He ran fasted as the sound grew louder. He turned the corner and froze.

He saw a man at the other side of the courtyard with a saxophone. He started to walk towards the man like he was in a trance.

He snapped out of it when the music stopped. The man took the instrument out of is mouth and began to walk towards his case.

Eren then realized he was packing it away so he ran up to him.

“Hey!” He shouted way louder than intended.

“Um hey?” The man said as he was hunched over his instrument case.

Being this close to the man Eren was able to admire not just his instrument but the way he looked. He had black hair with an undercut, a strong looking jaw and gorgeous stormy eyes. He was wearing a grey hoodie with black pants and even in the hoodie Eren could tell he worked out. A lot. He was absolutely stunning.

“Um.. I-I was wondering..” Eren started to say but couldn’t say the rest.

“What? Spit it out brat I don’t have all fucking day.” The man said as he stood up. That was when Eren found out that he was actually really short. If they stood next to each other he would probably only come up to Eren’s jaw. He also had a very grouchy expression and a sarcastic attitude.

“I really liked that song you played.. I was wondering if you could tell me the name of it?” Eren asked while fiddling around with his fingers. Why was he so nervous?

“You liked it?” The man gave him a puzzling look.

“Y-Yeah I did..” Eren met his gaze. This man has the most beautiful eyes. His right eye is greyish-silver while the left is dark blue. He couldn’t help but stare.

“In the mood.” He said.

“W-What!” Eren gasped. “N-No i’m sorry I wasn’t trying to suggest anything like that I just wanted to know the na-”

“Tsk. In the mood is the name dumbass.”

“O-Oh..” Eren blushed. He could’ve sworn he saw him smirk but when he focused he only saw a frown. 

“Well if that’s all I have somewhere to be.” with that the man picked up his case and brushed past him and began walking away.

“Wait!” Eren shouted and ran after him. Another thing about this man. He walks really fast for a short person.

“What now.” The man turned slightly.

“I-I was wondering if I could know your name?” Eren asked. He was sure that his face matched that of a tomato.

The man turned slightly with a stern look on his face. He stood there for a moment and the frown turned up slightly. What he said next caught Eren off guard by the way his voice sounded so smooth and silky while also sarcastic.

“See ya later, brat.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well here it is! Please let me know if there was anything you liked or disliked, any comment would be greatly appreciated!
> 
> The link to the song is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psv3XGZJIAM  
> This version is by Glenn Miller & his orchestra !!


	3. Friday night football

_“In the mood.” He said._

_“W-What!” Eren gasped. “N-No i’m sorry I wasn’t trying to suggest anything like that I just wanted to know the na-”_

_“Tsk. In the mood is the name dumbass.”_

‘Wow I cant believe I said what I said.. stupid stupid stupid!’ he mentally hit himself on the head. He sighed. ‘great first impression.’

Eren walked up the stairs and headed towards his dorm, he wondered if Armin would be back yet. He felt bad for just ditching him but he really needed to know the song.

As he reached for the door handle the door swung open and Armin came running into him knocking him over. “Is this going to happen every time we see each other cause if it is I’ll need to get pads or something,” Eren said as he as he tried to get up.

“Eren! There you are! You just ran off and when I went to run after you, you just kinda disappeared!” Armin said as he helped Eren up.

“Yeah sorry about that..” He shut the door and walked into their little kitchen area. “There was something I had to do.”

He grabbed a water bottle from their fridge and walked over to the futon where Armin was sitting.

“Oh I thought Mikasa saw you or something.”

“Nah, nothing like that.” Eren sat next to Armin. “So what classes are you taking this semester?”

Armin’s eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. He ran to his room and grabbed his schedule and ran back to the futon and sat right next to Eren.

“Ahhhhh ok ok ok. Sooo I have 5 classes this semester! I have Biochemistry and Physics I on Mondays and Wednesdays, Organic Chemistry II and Microbiology on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Statistics on Fridays!”

“Woah. Isn’t that a lot for your first semester?” Eren said as he looked at the wide-eyed boy in front of him.

“Well yeah it’s gonna be tough but if it’s something I love then I can handle it! Oh what about you! What are you taking?”

“Oh yeah.” Eren got up from his seat and went to get his schedule. He sat down again and looked over the piece of paper.

“Um I have Psychology and Physics I on Mondays and Wednesdays, English comprehension, Calculus and Anatomy on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I don’t have any classes on Fridays.” As he finished Armin was basically jumping up and down in his seat.

“Oh my Gosh Eren! Do you know what this means!”

“Umm I have Fridays off?”

“NOOOO! We have Physics together!! Wait what time is your class? Mine is at 10 am.”

Eren looked down at the paper again and smiled. “Well I guess we’re in the same class then.”

“Yay!!” Armin put both his hands in the air. “This is going to be so fun! Oh, we better get to bed soon. We don’t wanna mess up our sleep schedule since our classes start in 2 days.” With that Armin stood up.

“But it’s only 6?”

“I said soon not now.”

“Ohhhhhhh okkkkk!” Eren laughed. “No need to get sassy on me.”

“Oh shut up.” Armin giggled. “So we should probably go shopping soon since no one brought food only water.”

Eren stood up. “Yeah that would be nice.”

After they went shopping at the local grocery store they came back and started to play Call of Duty on Armin’s Xbox.

“I wish I could have had a gaming system back at home.” Eren sighed. He walked around a building and looked around for any enemies.

“Well if you did then you wouldn’t have come to my house so often to play with me!” Armin said as he snuck up behind Eren and knifed him in the back.

“What! No fair! Ughhhh!” Eren slouched back onto the futon. “I don’t like playing with you anyway! Why do you have to be so good at everything! You don’t even play that much!” He laughed.

“I think there’s something called skill? Some people have it, some don’t.” Armin teased.

“Oh, so is this a challenge? Cause if it is I accept.” Eren got his game face on while Armin set up a one-on-one.

“Should we make this interesting? How about whoever wins gets to cook dinner for a week.” Armin looked at Eren.

“Alright you’re on!” They both shook hands. “You’re going down!”

* * *

 “Woohoo! I win!” Armin shouted.

“I think you cheat.” Eren said as he fell on the floor.

“I do no such thing! And I think I’ll want spagettio’s to go with my win.” Armin grinned while Eren groaned.

“So tomorrow is our last day of freedom, what do you wanna do?” Armin stood up and walked towards the bathroom.

“Lay in my pit of sorrow.” Eren said as he moped on the floor.

“Aw Eren don’t be a sore loser.”

“Well is there anything going on with the school tomorrow?” Eren looked up.

“Like school activities? I believe they’re doing club sign-ups tomorrow, did you want to join one?” Armin asked as he started brushing his teeth.

“Nah, maybe next year. Are there any games on tomorrow?”

Armin spit out his toothpaste. “You mean like a football game? Tomorrow’s Sunday so there isn’t anything like that going on but I think our first game is Friday. I didn’t know you liked football?”

“Well football is like the college thing, right? We go and sit and cheer for them, right?” He asked as he sat back on the futon.

“You watch too many movies.” Armin laughed. “Yeah people go to them but it’s not that big of a deal if you don’t, but if you wanna go we can. It might be fun?” Armin sat back down on the futon.

“Cool! We can watch people throw football balls and run around scoring goals!” Eren smiled. “It’ll be like a real college experience!”

“Ok 1. They’re called footballs, not football balls. And 2. They score touchdowns and stuff, not goals.” Armin laughed as he grabbed his sides. Eren pushed him over and he landed on the ground laughing.

“I don’t watch sports ok!” Eren threw his arms up. “Don’t judge me.”

“Ok well maybe we should go, it would be a learning experience after all.” Armin giggled.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah I’m going to bed.” Eren got up and walked towards his room. “Goodnight Armin.” He turned to look back.

Armin got up as well and walked towards his room. “Goodnight Eren.”

Eren shut his door and fell on his bed. He laughed as he shook his head, “Armin you goof.” His thoughts wandered to the man with the beautiful eyes. He seemed like a whole different person while playing than when he talked. Those eyes held mysteries while the music showed his true emotions. His voice was a song of its own, the deep bass sounded so smooth yet dangerous.

“In the mood, huh.” He grabbed his phone from the nightstand and went on YouTube and searched for the song. When the results popped up he froze. This is something his father would defiantly not approve of. ‘He won’t know..right?’ Eren asked himself.

He hesitated on clicking the first video, the only time he went on YouTube was to look up videos on Anatomy related things, not music. He took a deep breath and clicked on it. When the music started playing a silent tear went down his cheek.

“This is the song mom, hah, this is the song!” He put it on loop and sat his phone back on the nightstand. He didn’t care if his phone died, he wanted to fall asleep to this song.

His last thoughts before he fell into a deep sleep were of his mother.

* * *

Monday came quick since all he and Armin did Sunday was preparing for the upcoming week, and play video games. Armin’s first class started at 8 while Eren’s first class was their Physics class which started at 10.

Eren woke up to an empty dorm. He rubbed his eyes and looked at his clock.

8:27 am.

“Ughhh…” He rolled back over. ‘Ok I’ll have 3 minutes until my alarm goes off... I can sleep some more and then-‘

**Beep Beep Beep**

“Shit.” Eren turned back over and turned off his alarm. He sat up and looked over his room. “Well time to get up.”

Eren did his regular morning routine of emptying his bladder, eating breakfast and brushing his teeth. He walked over to his closet to decide what to wear. He began by picking up shirts and then throwing them on the floor. He wanted to look nice for his first day but not too nice.

His final pick was a regular grey t-shirt and some blue jeans with black vans. He began to walk over to his desk to start packing his books and laptop into his bookbag when he heard the familiar buzz on his phone.

_9:14 am_

Mikasa: Are you up? I don’t want you to be late for your first class.

He looked at his phone puzzled.

Eren: Yeah, I’m up. How do you know when my first class is?

He sat his phone down and continued to pack everything when his phone lit up again.

Mikasa: I ran into Armin this morning and he said he was super excited that you both will be in the same class.

He sighed.

Eren: Oh ok.

Mikasa: I also heard you both will be going to the football game this Friday? Do you mind if I come?

Eren looked at his phone. He couldn’t blame Armin for saying that, him and Mikasa were friends, he couldn’t expect him to completely ignore her.

Eren: Yeah sure the more the merrier. 

He then put his phone in his back pocket, swung his bookbag over his shoulder and walked out of his dorm humming his favorite song.

* * *

The week went by quickly. Eren enjoyed most of his classes, he didn’t care much for English but the professor was cool. He enjoyed physic’s the most because Armin would make physics jokes and the professor would laugh to the point of wheezing. On the second day of class Armin was instructed to write a physics joke of the day in which he wrote “What is the name of the first electricity detective? Sherlock Ohms.” That got everyone. 

When Friday came around Eren didn’t know what to do. It was 3 something and the game didn’t start till 6 and Armin was in class. He was straight up bored. Most of his classes didn’t assign homework and the ones that did he got it done already. He would play a game but he enjoyed beating Armin and without Armin it was no fun. Yeah, he beats Armin! Sometimes…

He decided to watch tv, he flipped through the channels and nothing good was on so he decided to watch the movie Bring it on. He didn’t really understand what was going on but hey, it was interesting.

Armin came back around 4 and they just chitchatted about the day and they texted Mikasa where to meet them before the game. Armin seemed excited about the game but Eren wasn’t all that into it anymore. He didn’t understand the game or how people got so into it. All they did was run around and toss a ball, not very interesting in his opinion.

By the time they got to the stadium it was somewhat full. They met Mikasa at the front gate and they started their way up the bleachers. The seats they chose were in the middle of the bleachers near the 50-yard line. Eren sat in the middle while Armin was at his right and Mikasa was at his left. The stadium was big to Eren, it looked like it could fit 5000 people in it even though it probably couldn’t. A little after they sat down the band started making their way to their designated seating around the 20-yard line.

Eren tapped on Armin’s shoulder. “I didn’t know the school had a marching band.”

“Yeah, I think every school has one, they aren’t that big but I heard they’re really good.”

Eren watched the band make their way and he couldn’t help but watch the 3 people that led them.

“Who are the people in the front?” Eren nudged Armin.

“Um I don’t know exactly what their called but they kinda lead the band I think.” Armin shrugged.

“They’re called drum majors.” Mikasa exclaimed.

“Drum majors? Like they major in drums?” Eren turned to look at her.

Mikasa then wrapped her arm around Eren and leaned her head on his shoulder. “No, they stand on the podiums and direct the tempo of the band.”

“Ah.” Eren then looked at Armin with somewhat pleading eyes and Armin just looked at him with a sentimental stare.

The game started shortly after that and things started to get heated. Eren didn’t know what school they were playing but he knew they had a Bee as their mascot.

The cheerleaders were out trying to pump up the crowd and Eren chucked at the thought of them going through what the cheerleaders went through in the movie.

“What’s so funny” Eren looked down at the girl on his shoulder.

“Oh, it’s nothing.” Eren rubbed the back of his head.

“You think they’re cute.”

Eren jumped a little. “Wha- no wait what? Noo. I do not!”

Mikasa looked up at Eren and squinted her eyes a little. “Should I join the cheerleading team next year.

“Wha-“

“Mikasa! Look we made a touchdown!” Armin said as he took Mikasa’s hand and high-fived it. Mikasa nodded and went back to watching the game. Eren then turned to look at Armin and mouthed thank you and wiped the invisible sweat off his face. Armin giggled and waved him off.

Around the second quarter Eren noticed the band getting up and walking off somewhere. He wondered if the got to leave early or something. He turned to Armin again, “hey where do you think they’re going?”

“Well it’s almost half-time so I think they’re gonna perform.”

Eren nodded and watched the timer go down. He actually wanted to hear them, now that he knew their school had a marching band he was happy that he decided to come.

Once the buzzer went off the 2 teams ran off the field and the cheerleaders ran off after them. Eren looked around for the band when he heard drumming coming from the area they went off to. A couple seconds later and the band began their way onto the field while the announcer started talking.

**“I would like you all to welcome our very own Marching Titans!”**

As they made their way the crowed went ecstatic. Way more than what they sounded like when the actual game was going on.

**“Under the direction of Dot Pixis! Section leaders-“**

Eren didn’t recognize any of the names he called out. He was too busy admiring them. There jackets were a light shade of brown with a mini white and green cape on the right side and their pants were white with a stripe of green going down the side. The flag girls/guys were wearing something similar in color but looked more like uniforms. They wore a white shirt under a light brown jacket with white pants that had brown straps around their thighs and long brown boots that went up to their knee.

**“Brass caption- Annie Leonhart. Woodwind caption- Petra Ral”**

Eren smiled wide. “Guys it’s Petra! She’s in the band!” Eren shouted. He scooted forward in his seat to get a better look.

**“Drum majors- Levi Ackerman, Erwin Smith and Hanji Zoe”**

Eren watched the 3 drum majors walk towards their podiums. Their outfits were similar to the ones the flag people wore yet they had long green capes. One of the drum majors walked to the opposite side of the field while the other 2 walked towards the front.

“Why is that one walking over there?” Eren asked.

“Well I think its when the band faces that way they need someone to keep the tempo so they have one of them in the back.” Armin shrugged.

Eren turned back to the band and the drum majors got up on their podiums and turned to face their band. Eren noticed that on the back on their capes they had the school mascot on the back: the Wings of Freedom.

Eren watched the 2 drum majors. They clapped their hands and the whole band moved. He wasn’t paying attention to how they were before but they all moved together in an instant and were standing with their feet apart with their instruments down. Both drum majors turned towards the crowd and did a weird salute thing and took off their hats.

Eren stared at the one drum major. That was the man he met. That was him! The man at the 40-yard line was the man he met! He was basically jumping up and down in his seat. ‘Ok ok that is either Levi or Erwin? Ugh who cares that freakin hot guy is in the band! Wait.. what’ Eren shook his head.

The drum majors then turned back to the band and waited.

“Armin? What are they waiting for-“

**“Drum majors! Is your band ready!”**

With that the drum majors clapped their hands again and the band moved to a different position. Some of their horns were up while others were up yet not near their mouths.

**“Entering the field in exhibition. The Sina University Marching Titans!”**

The crowd went quiet. Every single person waiting to see what they would do next. Then all 3 drum majors hands went up and a sudden sound came. The band began moving and the flag people began running. Their first move was everyone getting into formation while the flag people stood at the front. They then began moving in what looked like they were frantically walking around.

This kept on until the flag people started the go get their swords and when they went back onto the field the band made a titan. As the band moved the flag people ran around them with their 2 swords like they were flying. They would make moves like they were cutting into the titan and one of them hit the neck and the band moved towards the front of the field like the titan was falling. After that the band stopped and the flag people ran off the field towards their items.

The drum majors began moving their hands again and the band began moving again while playing a slow song. The flag people walked onto the field again but they were limping like they were injured from fighting the titan. 3 of the flag people were carrying another flag person while the band made a castle shape.

The music began to get intense and 2 band members walked away from the band while everyone else walked the opposite way. They just stood there until the music got bigger and the band ran towards them and they made 2 titans. The flag people ran and got their swords but it seemed like it was too late because when they ran back towards the shapes they seemed to be getting smaller like they were disappearing. They stopped.

Then they started and the flag people began to run around frantic. The band walked around them and then the flag people turned around and stood there with their hands above their hearts and other ones behind their back. Then the titans came back and they started running with their wings of freedom flags and began running around the band. It seemed like the 2 titans were fighting each other. Right before they touched the band moved and made a wings of freedom picture and the flag people stood in around them with their wings of freedom flags.

The drum majors then turned around and saluted the crowd again and copied the stance the flag people made with the hand over the heart. They then started to make their way off the field.

**“Ladies and gentlemen, the Marching Titans!”**

The crowd cheered loudly for them. They got a huge standing ovation from everyone in the stands. Armin was cheering loudly while Mikasa just stood there. Eren was left in awe. It was amazing. He watched the man walk off and he stood up from his seat and made his way down the bleachers.

He heard his name being called but he didn’t care. He wanted to meet that man again and tell him how great that was. He ran towards the side of the stadium where he saw them go and once he got to where the bleachers ended he saw them there huddled up around the director, Eren assumed.

He didn’t want to be creepy so he watched the game like he was there the whole time until the band began to walk past him. They didn’t have their instruments so he assumed they were on break since they game isn’t over yet. He looked back around and saw the 3 drum majors talking to each other as they also made their way towards him. He walked down onto the ground and right as the guy passed him he reached out and tapped his shoulder.

“What.” The guy said. Once he turned he looked Eren up and. “Oh it’s you, enjoy the show?”

“U-Um yeah.. Uh I just wanted to come over here and say it was great..” Eren looked down while rubbing the back of his neck. “Um I didn’t know you were the drum major..”

“You didn’t ask brat but thanks, so that’s all you wanted to say? Even after you ran all the way over here.” The guy said while crossing his arms.

Eren’s face went red. “Y-You saw that!” Eren bit his lip. ‘Wow I bet he thinks I’m some kind of crazy stalker!’

The guy nodded.

“Well… um.. you never answered my question.. About your name..” Eren looked from eye to eye. He got lost in those beautiful eyes until the guy snapped his fingers in front of his face.

“Oi, you alright? You looked constipated for a second there.” The guy stepped closer and Eren gulped.

“Y-Yeah.. so uh.. which one are you? Erwin or Levi? Or are you Hanji?” Eren backed away a little.

The guy looked like Eren insulted him. “I’m defiantly not Hanji, dumbass. I’m Levi.”

Eren shifted from one leg to the other and offered out his hand. “I’m Eren.”

Levi hesitated at first but shook Eren’s hand. “So uh.. Is being the drum major fun?” Eren chuckled nervously.

Levi looked at the timer and started to walk towards his hat that was laying on the ground. He then took something out of his hat and made his way over to the director and back to Eren. Eren looked at him puzzled while Levi began to write something on a piece of paper. “Look I don’t have much time to talk right now so here.” Levi then handed Eren the piece of paper.

Eren blushed lightly as their hands touched again. “Um what’s this?” Eren held up the piece of paper.

Levi noticed the blush and turned around quickly. “It’s my number, brat.” He began walking away, also blushing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really REALLY loved this chapter! Ahh!  
> The first movement of the band was the theme song: Guren No Yumiya  
> The second was the song: Vogel im Kafig  
> And the last was the second season theme song: Shinzo wo Sasageyo!


	4. Maybe I am?

Eren eventually found his way back to his seat. The 3rd quarter was almost over and Sina was leading with 34-31. The cheerleaders were trying to get the crowd hyped up for the ending but it almost seemed like everyone was ready to leave.

Once Eren sat down he was bombarded with questions about where he ran off to but he didn’t feel like answering them. He was way too happy to focus on the game so he just told them that he was gonna head back to the dorm. Armin suggested that he come with but Eren declined saying it was fine.

He couldn’t hold back the smile that formed his face on the way back, he kept a firm grip on the piece of paper in his pocket for the fear of losing it. He was so happy and out of it that he didn’t notice that he bumped into someone.

“Hey! Watch were you’re going!” the guy turned around. “Yeager? What the fuck are you doing here?”

Eren looked up and the smile faded quickly. “Well I kinda go here horse-face. What the fuck are YOU doing here.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

They stared at each other intensely until they both broke out in a fit of laughter. “If I would’ve known your ass would be here I would’ve bugged you on the first day.” Jean said as he grabbed Eren’s shoulder.

“Umm I’m here too..?”

“Marco!” Eren looked around Jean and walked towards him. “You’re here too? Damn who else is here?” He looked back at Jean.

“Well most of our friends are here shithead. If you had any type of social media you would’ve known that.” Jean said.

“Like who?”

“Um well Sasha, Connie, Ymir and Krista. Did you go to the game? Krista was one of the cheerleaders.” Marco laughed and patted Eren on the back.

“Well yeah I went but I didn’t pay attention to the cheerleaders that much.”

Jean laughed at that. “Oh wow Yeager I didn’t know Mikasa had such a tight rein on you.”

“Wait what are you guys doing out here?”

Both stopped laughing. Marco looked down with a red face and Jean looked towards a tree wishing something would help with their current situation.

Eren looked from one guy to the other and burst out in laughter. He laughed so hard that he fell onto the ground. “Dude really? Don’t you have a dorm room or something?” Eren couldn’t contain his laughter.

“Shut the fuck up man! We both have a small dorm so there’s only room and each of our roommates are home!” Jean looked at Eren with a red face.

“So, you thought it would be best to do it outside?” Eren sat crisscross on the ground with tears in his eyes.

“…We um.. were in the locker room…” Marco said softly.

“Wait how did you guys get in there?” Eren asked while trying not to laugh.

“That’s none of your business. Don’t you have somewhere to be or something.” Jean stood in front of a mega-blushing Marco.

“Not really, I was just heading back to my dorm.” Eren said playfully.

Jean went to lunge at him but Marco held him back. Eren laughed again and stood up brushing off his pants. “Alright alright I’m leaving don’t worry. But uh since mostly everyone is here maybe we can all get together sometime?”

Marco perked up at smiled brightly. “Yeah that would be fun! We could all go get coffee or something. I’ll ask everyone and I’ll text you the details.”

“Alright cool, well see ya.” Eren waved and began walking back to his dorm.

He started thinking about Levi and all the questions he had for him. Since he did know the song maybe he knew other ones like that or who taught him to play. Was he a music major or did he do it just for fun.

Eren was pulled out of his thoughts when his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and gulped. He tapped on the green answer button and brought the phone up to his ear.

“Hello father.”

“How was your first week of classes, Eren.” His father asked.

“They were great. I really enjoy Physics and my English teacher is really fun and-“

“How is Anatomy.” His father interrupted.

“Oh, it’s nice.” Eren frowned.

“So what are you doing at a football game when you should be in your room studying.” He could sense his father’s irritation.

 Eren opened the door to the dorm building and started towards the stairs. “Well I didn’t have any homework and I studied a lot already..”

 “I didn’t send you to that school so you can goof around Eren. Was this Armin’s idea?”

 “N-No father! It was completely mine. Armin didn’t suggest it I did.”

 “It’s a good thing I asked Mikasa how you were doing. If I didn’t I would have never known about this. Eren listen. I do not want you wasting your time on shit like that. The next time I hear about this I’ll bring you home. Understand.”

 “Yes father.. it won’t happen again.” Eren said as he opened the door to his dorm.

“Good.” With that his father hung up.

Eren brought his phone down and sunk to the floor. Tears began to pool at his eyes. He heard faint cheering from outside and he guessed they scored again. He got up from the floor and made his way towards his room. He turned on the light and fell onto his bed.

He laid there for what seemed like hours until he turned onto his side and heard a crumbing sound. That’s when he jolted up and took the piece of paper out of his pocket. He stared at it and went to grab his phone. He made a new contact for Levi and entered his number. He clicked on the text button and stopped. He didn’t know what to say!

“Umm how about Hi? No no no that’ll make me sound timid… oh! What about Hey whats up! Nah that’ll make me sound like a weirdo..” Eren kept thinking about what to say and ended up typing ‘Hey it’s Eren.’

“Well I can’t go wrong with that.” He sent it.

He waited for a minute for a response and decided to take a shower so the time can pass by. He ran into the bathroom and started up the shower. He got it the right temperature and stripped himself of his clothes.

Once he was done he hopped out of the shower and began drying himself. He was so excited and nervous he was literally bouncing. He didn’t understand why he was so nervous though. He’s just a normal guy that plays instruments and leads the band and is super freakin hot.

Eren stepped out of the bathroom and stopped. Why does he think that way towards Levi? He’s never had a crush on anyone especially a guy before. He’s been too focused on school and he’s been engaged to Mikasa so he was never allowed to have feelings for another person. Even if he did have feelings for Levi nothing would happen. He’s engaged for crying out loud! He’s getting married to Mikasa! Plus, he never really thought of himself as gay before. How does someone know if they are?

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Right as he turned the door handle his phone went off. Eren opened the door quickly and jumped onto his bed and grabbed his phone. He probably looked like a school girl but he didn’t care. He opened the message and smiled.

_8:47 pm_

Levi: Hey brat

Eren laughed at that. He should be angry for being called a brat but it was Levi and, well, he kinda liked it.

“Ok Eren, keep it cool.”

Eren: Are you still at the game?

Levi: Yeah. We’re kinda forced to be here

“Stupid stupid.. Duh of course he’s still there..” Eren mentally slapped himself.

Eren: Oh right.. haha. So uh how many intruments do you play?

Levi: Did you just text me to ask questions?

Eren: Well you did give me your number so I could ask you stuff :P

Eren giggled. He turned on his back and looked up at his phone.

Levi: True. I can play 17 instruments.

He went wide eyed.

Eren: Really! That’s so cool! So is that why you’re a drum major?

Levi: No, I had a better audition than others.

Eren rolled back onto his stomach. He began typing when he got another text.

Levi: How about instead of texting me and asking questions, you ask me in person. You wanna get coffee tomorrow?

His face lit up and he giggled. “Ok Eren, chill remember.”

Eren: Yeah sure. Are you free around noon?

‘Oh yeah I’m super chill’ Eren nodded to himself.

Levi: There’s a coffee shop right next to the campus called Café Serenade. I’ll see you around noon

Eren tossed his phone on his pillow and stood up. He looked around the room and fist pumped. Right as he was about to sit back down he heard the main door shut. He was about to go greet Armin but realized he was still in a towel so he grabbed some grey sweat pants and ran out into the little living room.

“Armin!!” Eren ran and hugged Armin.

“Um hey Eren” Armin giggled. “Did you miss me or something?”

Eren let go of Armin and fell onto the futon.

“You seem happy.” Armin said as he sat next to Eren.

“Hey Armin, can I ask you a question?” Eren frowned.

Armin noticed his change in mood and nodded. Eren sat up a little and started fidgeting.

“Um.. Well..” Armin noticed at how uncomfortable Eren became and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, you know I won’t judge you. You can ask me anything.” Armin smiled.

Eren looked at Armin and smiled a little. He took a deep breath and sat to where he and Armin were facing each other.

“How did you know you were.. uh.. pansexual?”

Armin looked at Eren surprised. Eren kept eye contact and looked somewhat determined. 

“Um well I kinda just knew. I had a crush on a girl and then I had a crush on a guy.” Armin knew Eren didn’t really know much about it so he tried his best to explain without confusing him.

“But wouldn’t that make you.. I don’t know.. bisexual or something?”

Armin giggled. “No, sorry maybe that wasn’t a good explanation. Um sexual orientation or gender doesn’t matter to me.”

Eren nodded. “But how did you know?”

“Like I said I just kinda knew. Why do you ask?”

Eren blushed and looked down at the floor. “No reason.. I was just curious..”

Armin looked confused. He began to open his mouth to say something but was interrupted. “You know I’m actually really tired. Um I think I’m gonna go to sleep.”

Eren started to get up when Armin tugged on his sweatpants. Eren didn’t want to look at him but he turned his head anyway.

Armin let go of his pants and looked down. “If you ever want to talk I’ll be here ok?” Armin then looked up and smiled.

Eren gave him a small smile in return and nodded his head. He walked back to his room and closed the door before falling on his bed again. He knew he could talk to Armin about anything but somehow, he felt scared to admit it out loud.

Why was he so into this guy? Maybe it’s because he knows the song. That must be it. He couldn’t be gay, there’s no way.

He opened his phone to look at the messages again and he found himself smiling at the thought of meeting him again. The thought of hearing his voice or looking into those eyes had his heart fluttering. He then shot up and threw his phone onto his bed and began pacing around his room.

He’s not gay, he’s defiantly not gay. He just wants to talk to him because he’s cool, Yeah? He’s interesting and he plays instruments. He does everything Eren wishes he could do and that’s that. He just wants to be this guy’s friend. That’s all.

Eren turned around again and tripped over the leg of his chair and he fell halfway onto the bed and onto the floor.

“Ugh..” He sighed.

He then heard knocking on the door. “Eren? Are you ok?”

Eren looked at the ceiling. “No.. I’m not..” He whispered to himself.

“Eren?”

“I’m fine Armin, I just tripped that’s all.”

“Ok, well I’m making brownies.. do you want to help?” Armin asked.

“Nah that’s ok.. I should study anyway.” He sighed

“Ok..”

He could hear the disappointment in his voice. He knew Armin wanted to help, but he wanted to figure this out for himself.

He got up from the floor and moved to his desk when he heard his phone go off. Confused as to who would be texting him now, he walked to his bed and picked up his phone and walked back to his desk. He opened his phone after he sat down and it felt like his heart was going to jump out of his chest.

_10:13 pm_

Levi: Goodnight brat

He smiled to himself and he felt tears starting to form. No one ever bothers to text him goodnight, usually the conversation just ends. Not even Mikasa texts him that. He felt so happy that someone actually cared enough to text him that.

He couldn’t study, not now. He got up, turned the light off and walked back to his bed and pulled the covers up and crawled in. He opened his phone again and replied.

Eren: Goodnight Levi

Eren closed his eyes and wondered if Levi was thinking about him. If he was lying in bed just like him and wondering what the other was thinking. He smiled to himself, maybe he’ll be the last thing on Levi’s mind before falling asleep just like how Levi was on his. That’s when he realized something, yet he wasn’t upset about it anymore. He smiled once again.

‘I guess I’m gay.’


	5. Cafe Serenade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating in a while! I had a final exam and new classes starting up. I do have the next chapter written out so as soon as I edit it i'll have it posted to make up for lost time.

Eren woke up to the sound of birds chirping outside his window. As he opened his eyes he could see the faint rays of sunshine trying to peak its way through his curtains. He rubbed his eyes a little before glancing over at his clock. Groaning at the sight, 8:42 am, he sat up and stretched his arms over his head before kicking his feet over the edge. He sat looking around his room wondering what he would do today, study or watch movies.

Thinking about the night before, he remembered that he was going to get coffee this afternoon with Levi. He smiled to himself until the nerves started to kick in. He’s never been on an actual date before. What if it wasn’t a date. What if the guy just wants him to shut up and he’ll just answer his questions and never speak to him again. So many questions ran through his head until he heard the faint sound of a door opening.

Armin must be up he guessed. Standing up, he walked out the door to see Armin in the kitchen area. Armin turned his head towards Eren and smiled. “Good morning Eren.” Eren replied with a simple morning and leaned against the wall.

“I’m about to make pancakes. Would you like some?” Armin asked as he grabbed a bowl. Eren nodded and Armin resumed his gathering of supplies. “Did you just wake up?” Eren asked while Armin laughed. “Yeah, my tummy woke me up.” Eren gave a small laugh.

After eating breakfast Eren took the dishes to begin the washing and drying process. Armin yawned and laid out on the futon. “So, do you want to check out the shops today? We never did get to see what’s around town.” Eren glanced over his shoulder before answering. “Well actually.. I was going to meet a friend around noon.”

Armin sat up and looked at Eren. “You made a friend!” Eren then turned and chucked a dishrag while Armin dodged it and fell onto the floor laughing. “Can I meet him or her?” Armin giggled out.

Eren smiled to himself while finishing up the last dish. “Maybe.” He said softly while the hint of red crept onto his face.

Armin noticed the change in his attitude and smiled. Hopping off the futon, he skipped his way over to Eren’s side and moved so he was in Eren’s peripheral vision. “Do you wanna tell me about him?” Stunned, Eren turned towards Armin, thinking about how he should play this out. “H-How did you know it was a guy…”

Armin ran back to the futon and patted the spot next to him, indicating that he wanted Eren to sit there. Eren walked hesitantly towards the blond and sat down, finding that his nail beds were more interesting at the moment.

“So…” Armin started “You know you can tell me anything right? Soo what’s he like?” Eren looked at Armin and mentally cursed him for being the all-knowing person he is. “U-um.. well..” Eren didn’t know what to say, he really didn’t know much about Levi. Armin could tell Eren was having a difficult time answer so he just put his hand on his shoulder and smiled. “Maybe another time then.”

“Thanks.” Eren said as Armin got up. As Eren stood up to walk towards the bathroom he noticed Armin laughing. “What’s so funny?” Armin stopped laughing and ran towards his room. Using his door and a shield he looked at Eren through the crack, “He must be cute for you to get flustered like that.” Eren looked at Armin wide eyed and took a step before Armin shut his door. Hearing his roommate giggling through the door made him laugh softly to himself.

He then decided to take a shower and start getting ready. After making sure he got rid of his layer of sweat, he wrapped a towel around his waist and walked back into his room. Turning towards his closet, he thought to himself, ‘What should I wear..’ Pushing clothes around, he found it difficult to decide what would be right. He’s never been on a date and he didn’t even know if this was one. It is just a coffee shop, no need to over dress. After about 15 minutes of searching he decided on a pair of dark grey skinny jeans, a short sleeved light grey button up, and some black converse.

After putting on his outfit he walked back into the bathroom to take a good look at himself. Grabbing his brush, he attempted to tame the bird nest that sat atop his head. Looking somewhat better, he studied the rest of his appearance. Turning at different angles, he found that he looked pretty damn good. He was about 5”7, average height he guessed. Short chocolate brown hair that, when in the mood, framed his face nicely. His eyes were something he used to be self-conscious about. He never met anyone that shared the same color, he found early on that his eyes never stayed the same color, something always changed. One day they would be a turquoise while the next they could be compared to the sky. He never liked being different, and his eyes were different.

Glancing down at his shirt, he chuckled to himself. The only thanks his father should get was making him work out. He wasn’t ever allowed to try out for sports in middle and high school so his father made sure he workout out and got exercise. Nothing too fancy, just regular sit ups, push-ups, and the occasional morning run. He wasn’t super ripped or anything but he certainly wasn’t thin. A nice, somewhat, 6-pack and well-defined biceps and triceps were something to be proud of. He turned in the mirror and smiled to himself, ‘thank you squats!’  

He began to walk towards his room when he heard the beeping sound of a text message. Bolting to his room like the Flash, well a person could dream, he grabbed his phone and plopped on the bed. He instantly frowned when he realized that it wasn’t from the person he wished it was.

_11:17 am_

Mikasa: Good morning Eren. Do you want to go out later today?

He looked at the text and debated on whether he should tell the truth or fib. If he told the truth his father might find out, if he fibbed, then his father wouldn't find out...

Eren: I can’t today I’m studying with a friend

He choose to fib.

He looked at the time and decided he should probably start heading there. He didn’t know if Levi was the type of guy to show up early or late. Yelling his goodbye to Armin, he ran out of his dorm and the building. Once out, he got out his phone and looked up the directions to the café. He smiled when it was only a 10-minute walk. As he strolled along the sidewalk he noticed how the buildings around Sina U looked like those old buildings in the towns that haven’t gone through renovations and just look historic and beautiful. He loved how the buildings had character and felt homey instead of plain and lonely.

As he turned the corner he spotted the café and slowed his pace. It was a nice little café. It was painted white with red shudders around the windows, a little patio in the front so people could enjoy their choice of beverage on a nice day. There were little flower pots attached to the black fence surrounding the patio; the perfect arrangement of pinks, oranges, and yellows. Vines crept up the walls making it look a lit older than it probably was and some of the vines had little red flowers growing off them.

As he looked upon the little café he felt his nerves jump to life. With each passing step, he could hear his heart beat faster and faster. He crossed the street and peeked inside the little store, eyes widening when he saw Levi leaning against the counter talking to the barista. He felt a pang in his chest when she smacked his arm and he gave a small smile.

He didn’t know how long he was staring until the girl looked in his direction and began jumping up and down. Levi turned his head and the girl grabbed him by his shoulders almost like she was going to drag him over the counter. Levi looked again and motioned for Eren to come inside.

As Eren opened the door he heard a small bell go off. Soon after the door shut he was pulled into a bear hug by the same girl, she was saying something to him but all he could hear was her squealing.

“Hanji let him go.” Levi’s smooth voice filled the room. “Aww but I don’t wanna! He’s so cute!” The girl said. Eren didn’t know what to do in this situation so he just smiled and rubbed the back of his neck. Levi then proceeded to pry Hanji off him.

“Sorry about that. She’s fucking insane sometimes.” Levi said as he placed a hand on Hanji’s head. She then ran back behind the counter and leaned on it with her head on her palms. “Soooo this is Eren huh. You must be special if you’re all he’s been talking about.” She laughed when Levi shot her a death glare.

Eren blushed at the comment and stepped towards her with his hand extended; how could he forget his manners. “Well.. uh.. I’m Eren.” She grabbed his hand enthusiastically and shook it. “I am Hanji.” As soon as she let go she did a little curtsy. Levi shook his head at the motion and Eren laughed. “I am also the best friend of Mr. Grumpy over here.” She pointed at Levi which earned her yet another glare.

Eren felt a lot better knowing that they were just friends, even though he didn’t know why he got so jealous. He just met the guy.

“So Eren, what can I getcha.” Hanji asked with a wide grin. He looked at the menu scanning all the possible choices before deciding on one.

“Um.. can I just get a small caramel Frappuccino?” Eren liked coffee but he couldn’t drink it if it didn’t have that sickening sweet taste in it. Every time he got coffee he always had to dump the whole sugar container in it for it to taste good.

“Comin right up!” Eren began to get his wallet out when Hanji stopped him. “Don’t worry snickerdoodle it’s on the house!” She winked.

“Oh, thank you!” He smiled back.

“Do you want to sit down?” Levi asked as he motioned to one of the booths in the back.

“Sure.” He followed Levi to the far booth and sat down. Once he did he looked around and he decided he really like this place. It was a cozy place for people to just sit and drink their coffee and do work. In the center of the room were two large beige couches facing each other with a little brown coffee table separating them. There were a couple tables scattered around here and there, not the big kind but the two-seater tables. Along the back wall was a series of booths for the bigger parties. But the thing that caught his eye was the big stage right in front of the large window in the front. He wondered what kind of live entertainment they hosted. The café wasn’t busy at the moment but he could tell that they got most of their business when they would have people preforming. He made a metal note to ask about that later.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when Hanji came by and dropped off his coffee with a bright smile. “Here ya go honeybun, enjoy!” She winked at Levi before walking off.

Eren laughed before he looked back at her retreating form when sudden realization hit him. “Wait! She’s the other drum major!”

“Yup.” Levi said as he took a sip of his own coffee.

Eren turned to face Levi, scanning over his appearance. He couldn’t see all of him at the moment but he remembered exactly what his choice of outfit was. He was wearing a white muscle shirt with a weird symbol on the top right near his pec, black skinny jeans, and black vans.

He didn’t realize he was staring until he heard someone clearing their throat. He looked up and was met with those eyes. He could gaze at that pair all day. The one eye mirror that of grey clouds preparing to unleash the unpredictable, while the other being the color of the bluest sea. The calm before the storm.

He saw Levi’s mouth moving yet he heard no words, “um what?” Levi lifted a brow and repeated himself. “I said, why are you so interested in music.”

“Oh.. Um.. Well I’ve always wanted to learn about it but I wasn’t allowed to..” Eren looked down at his coffee.

“Oh, well what do you want to know.” Eren then looked up and smiled. “Really!” Levi looked puzzled at the question. “I did say I would answer your questions, didn’t I?” Eren laughed awkwardly at the statement. “R-right..”

Eren took a sip of his drink right before a new song came onto the radio. It sounded a lot like the one song he loves so much. “What is this song?”

Levi looked at him and then looked away as if he was thinking. He then turned back. “This is [Johnson Rag](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zur9T5hBPTY) by the Glenn Miller Orchestra.”

Eren looked at him wide-eyed. “How did you know that!” Levi looked at him and shrugged. “I enjoy their music.”

“So, you listen to this kind of music a lot?” Eren took another swig from his drink.

“It’s my favorite type of music. I like hearing actual instruments, not computerized, auto-tuned crap.” Eren mouthed ‘oh’ and starting thinking of all the questions he had for him. “What exactly.. is this kind of music?”

“Big bang music? Well, a lot of people say it’s like jazz except it’s more focused on the formation of the ensemble than style of music. I personally like the old songs, they’re more like swing.” Levi shrugged.

Eren nodded and pointed at Levi’s shirt. “What’s that symbol on your shirt?” Levi glanced down at his shirt. “It’s a treble clef, some instruments read music with a treble or bass clef.”

“So, you play music with a treble clef?” Levi shook his head. “I play with both.”

“Instruments can be played with both?” Eren didn’t understand why use two when they can play with both.

“No. Um. Ok, the clarinet music is in treble clef while say a trombone is in bass clef. A piano used both because the upper octaves use treble and the lower octaves use bass.”

“Oh ok. I’m guessing you can play all three?” Levi nodded.

“Do they teach you to play a lot of different instruments in band?”  Levi shook his head, “they usually just teach you to play one, I taught myself the rest.” Eren looked back in awe. “Really? So, which one did they teach you?”

“The clarinet.” Eren smiled. “So.. the instrument squidward plays?”

Levi choked on his drink and Eren laughed. “Does it really sound like that?” Eren asked making a cringe face. Levi sighed and shook his head. “Not at all, well if you play it right.”

Eren nodded his head. “Is that why you choose it?”

“Yeah, I like the way it sounds. Except when I first played it sounded like a dying cat.” Levi said as Eren was in the middle of a sip. Unfortunately, this caused Eren to laugh and almost shoot coffee from his nose.

Once he calmed down he looked at Levi with a sad smile. “Um.. do you think you could show me some songs from Big Band artists..”

Levi looked at him with soft eyes, something about the kid reminded him of himself when he was younger. “I have a couple of CD’s of various artists if you want to borrow some sometime.”

Eren’s eyes lit up at the statement. “Really! You would let me borrow some!”

“I don’t have a problem with it as long as you don’t scratch them or put them in the wrong cases.” Eren smiled wide as he nodded.

There was something about him that peaked Levi’s interest. Ever since the day he came running up to him with amazement and tears in his eyes over one little song. The way his eyes lit up when he would tell him about music; he seemed generally interested. Levi never really cared for people that much, nevertheless about their interests. Yet, he wanted to tell him about everything. He wanted to keep those eyes bright and happy. He didn’t understand why and it bothered him.  

“Have you ever wanted to play an instrument?” Levi looked into those eyes as they dimmed.

Eren’s smile faded and his gaze shifted to his almost empty cup. “I’ve always wanted to.. but my dad would never allow it. He didn’t even approve of me listening to music at all..”

Levi looked at him shocked. How could someone not be allowed to listen to music? Music is just as important as any other subject or daily activity. Music has the ability to bring people together and better lives. How could one live without it?

Listening to music is one thing, but making it is another. Sure, it’s not for everyone, yet to condemn someone from doing it is appalling. Music is a language of its own, a language that everyone understands. It can express someone’s deepest emotions without them saying a word.

Levi looked at Eren with a stern face. “Eren, would you like to learn?” Eren looked up surprised. “I’ve always wanted to learn..” Levi took one last sip of his drink before opening his mouth, “would you like me to teach you sometime?”

He saw Eren freeze. He could see him studying his features, trying to find any doubt. Yet there was none. Eren then looked into his eyes and nodded. Levi was about to say something when he saw a single tear fall from Eren’s eyes. Levi began to panic, he doesn’t know what to do in a situation like this. He isn’t good with people crying, especially this brat he just met. Before Levi could do anything Eren bolted from his seat and hugged Levi.

Another thing Levi wasn’t good at; hugs. He didn’t know whether to hug him back or to just sit there. He looked around for Hanji for guidance when Eren unhooked himself and stared at him. “Thank you.” He smiled. “Thank you so much… you have no idea how much this means to me..” He began wiping his eyes in between sniffles. Levi smiled softly. “No problem, brat.”

Eren then returned to his seat. Looking at him Levi realized he was smiling. He never smiles. Why would he smile now? Disposing of it before someone can see, he sighed, ‘what is this kid doing to me.’

Eren then moved back to his side with a permanent smile plastered on his face. “So, what kind of instrument will you be teaching me?”

Levi thought for a few seconds. “Which one do you want to learn?” Eren’s face went from happy to serious. “All of them.”

Levi huffed and threw a napkin at him. Eren laughed as he watched the napkin fly back to Levi. “Um what would you recommend for a beginner?”

Levi thought about it. A lot of people start off on the piano, that or a violin. “How about the piano.” Eren grinned. “Ok!”

“So, how does this work? Do I meet you where the band meets?” Levi shook his head. “I have an electric piano in my dorm.”

Eren looked at him like he grew a second head. “What?” Levi said a little too harsh for what he wanted to sound like.

“You have your own instruments?”

Levi looked at him baffled. “Yeah?” Eren scooted closer towards the table with his head resting on his palms. “Do you own all the instruments you can play?”

Levi nodded his head and Eren seemed excited. “Can I maybe hold some! I’ve never actually held an instrument before and.. um..” he trailed off for a second and Levi answered. “Sure. I don’t mind.” Eren smiled again before looking confused. “Did you buy them yourself.” Levi nodded. “But aren’t they super expensive?”

Levi looked at him amused. “That’s why I have a job, to pay for them.” Eren nodded at that. Levi then got an idea. “Are you doing anything else today?”

Eren looked at Levi puzzled before shaking his head. “Well if you want we could start today.” Eren happily nodded his head. “Alright.”

They both got up from their seats and started walking towards the door. Hanji yelled out a bye and Levi just waved while Eren said goodbye. Once they exited the café they began walking towards the campus in a comfortable silence.


	6. Strangers no more

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter as promised! It is short but i'll have the next one up soon.

The walk back had Eren feeling all sorts of emotions. As he took each step he had to remind himself to breathe. He was a little bit behind Levi while they strolled down the street and he was thankful for that. If Levi saw how he looked he would think that there was something wrong with him, even though there kinda is.

Eren barely knew him and he’s letting him lead him to his dorm. ‘What if he’s a psycho killer or something!’ Eren was mentally beating himself up for saying yes. One part of his brain says to run yet the other one says ‘Oh well he’s hot and plays instruments, what could go wrong?’  

His endless mind arguing was interrupted by Levi’s voice. “So Eren, how old are you?” He turned his head to look at Eren.

Of course, being Eren, he took the question the wrong way. “W-why would you want to know that? I won’t let you do anything if that’s what you’re asking!” He stopped walking as Levi turned around. Eren couldn’t quite place the emotions he saw in Levi’s face. It looked almost like disgust, anger, and confusion all rolled into one.

“What in the actual fuck are you talking about. I don’t want to let some stranger into my room so I thought I’d get to know you better dumbass.” Levi then turned all the way towards him with his arms crossed over his chest.

Embarrassment washed all over Eren. His face turned red and he felt bad for thinking the way he did. He couldn’t look at Levi, he stood shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “I’m sorry.. I was just so nervous..”

He looked up at Levi and found that he didn’t look angry or irritated anymore, he looked somewhat entertained. “It’s fine brat. It’s not every day some random guy invites you over. So, am I allowed to ask more questions or are you going to freak the fuck out again.”

Eren laughed at the statement and began walking with Levi. “Well I’m 18, how old are you?” Levi looked shocked. “You’re 18? Wow you’re a baby.”

“Am not!” Eren said as he punched Levi’s arm playfully.

“Sure you aren’t.” He said sarcastically. “I’m 24.”

It was now Eren’s turn to looked shocked. He looked at Levi with wide-eyes and began laughing. Levi then turned and starred at the boy. “What is so funny?”

“You’re.. so.. old!” He said in-between laughs.

Levi gently punched his arm and began to walk. Straightening up, Eren started to follow when the familiar buzz of his phone went off. He took his phone out of his pocket and told Levi he would be a minute.

Walking away a little, he answered his phone. “Hello?”

“Where are you?” Mikasa’s voice answered.

“Studying with a friend?” he replied, sounding a little more like a question.

“Well you need to come back. Armin needs help.” With that, she ended the call.

Staring at his phone he turned to Levi who was patiently waiting.

“Um.. sorry.. I have to go. My roommate needs help with something..” Eren explained. Looking disappointed, he gave Levi a sad smile.

“It’s fine, maybe some other time. If you’re really into this music thing then you should come by the café Friday night. Our band plays every Friday at 9.” Levi said, trying to make him cheer up.

And it worked, Eren’s sad smile turned bright and he began nodding. “Wait, you’re in a band?” He questioned.

“Yeah, we get together and play big band music. Others play there sometimes but since we’re regulars they let us have a scheduled day.” Levi said as he shrugged.

“I’ll be there!” Eren said as they both turned to make their way back to the school. Along the way they began to learn a lot about each other. Eren’s favorite color was green whereas Levi’s was purple. Eren was kinda a slob and Levi was a clean freak. Eren was a pre-med while, obviously, Levi was a music major. They talked about their birthdays and funny memories. The one thing they didn’t talk about was family, both feeling like the other didn’t want to share.

Arriving at the school they parted ways, waving their goodbyes, Eren walked towards his dorm building. Walking up the stairs, he fished out his key and made his way towards his door. When he walked in he was greeted by the delicious smell of alfredo.

“Eren!” Armin said as he stirred something inside a pot.

“Hey Armin, you needed help?” Eren asked as he looked at Mikasa, who was sitting on the futon.

“Oh.. um not really. I think I got everything?” Armin said as he looked at Eren with a confused expression.

Eren rolled his eyes and walked into his room, shutting his door. Stuff like this usually happens. He would try and hangout with someone and Mikasa would say something to either not make him go or come home early. He never understood why she did it. He never thought of her as the jealous type, sure she was somewhat clingy but why would she have the need to do that.

Eren sat on his bed and the feeling of guilt washed over him. He was engaged, even if he didn’t take it seriously she did. He was out with a guy he, kinda, had a crush on and he’s engaged. He sighed, since when did he become a cheater. He didn’t do anything but liking the guy and hanging out with him was just as bad. But that doesn’t mean him and Levi couldn’t be friends. They could still hangout, he could still learn. Nothing has to happen and even though he kinda wants it, he could never do anything. His life is written out for him, and being with Levi is nowhere in that book.

Eren was brought out of his thoughts when someone lightly knocked on his door. “Come in.” he could tell his voice sounded down but he didn’t really care.

Mikasa opened the door and closed it behind her. Sitting on the bed, she turned towards Eren and put a hand on his knee.

“Everything ok?” She asked. This made Eren smile, he could never stay mad at her. Something about someone caring made him happy. She wasn’t a bad person, she was brought into this just like he was. Sure, she liked the idea, maybe things would be different if the engagement never happened.

“Yeah everything’s fine. Thanks though.” He turned his head towards her and smiled. He couldn’t believe she was his fiancé. No matter how long it’s been decided, he always saw her as a good friend. He liked her better when she was in friend mode than fiancé mode.

“You want to play a game? How about Mario cart?” She smiled slightly. She knew Eren could never refuse a race. Smiling, Eren nodded and rushed out the room to set it up.

By the time everything was ready Armin had just finished the food and set it on the table for anyone who wanted some. There were only two controllers so Armin insisted that they play first since he was eating his alfredo pasta.

Eren and Mikasa both sat right in from of the tv, preparing for the moment they lose their friendship and start the rivalry. Eren picked Luigi while Mikasa went with Yoshi for some odd reason. Luigi was obviously the best, Mario can go suck it. They played rock paper scissors to see who would pick the first map and Eren moped when Mikasa won. Dreading picking rock, he had to now endure his least favorite track; Wario’s gold mine. He hated that track with a fiery passion, he always fell off. Starting the race, he pressed the accelerate too early and burned out while Mikasa went into 5th place. When he got himself going, he started to pass the other CPU’s easily until he got into the actual mine and stupid Bowser knocked him off.

“Fucking Bowser…” He muttered as he waited to be brought back into the race. Finishing the race, Mikasa landing in 1st while he in 10th.

“Ok ok my turn.” He grinned wickedly. He chooses Rainbow road. Mikasa groaned when he picked it yet he laughed, he loved this track. Starting off in 10th place would be hard to catch up but he was determined. When the race begun he easily passed some CPU’s and was right behind Mikasa. When a turn came up he could see Mikasa slow down to make it without falling off while Eren, being the drift master he was, made the turn easily. He finished the race in 2nd while Mikasa was in 8th, he lost to Bowser.

After five races Mikasa was in 3rd place while Eren came in 4th. He didn’t know how it happened but it was probably during Bowser’s castle. ‘Fucking Bowser.’ He thought as Armin laughed. Noticing the time Mikasa thought it would be best if she left.

Eren walked her to the door and hugged her. “Do you need me to walk you back?” He questioned.

“No it’s ok, I’ll be fine.” She said before giving him a quick peck on the cheek. “Ok. Well goodnight.” He said kinda awkwardly. She laughed and walked down the hall.

After closing the door, Eren rushed to grab some pasta before Armin put the rest away. Laughing, Armin sat the bowl down so Eren could get some.

The rest of the night was spent watching those cheesy movies on Netflix. Eren and Armin would take turns making fun of what was happening. Around 12, Eren said goodnight to Armin and retreated to his room. Flopping down on his bed he found that he had a snap from Mikasa. Opening snapchat, he viewed the photo which was of Mikasa laughing at her roommate dancing. He chuckled before snapping a picture of his face with a random animal filter.

After sending the picture, he wondered if Levi had a snapchat. Opening the find contacts, he scrolled down to Levi’s number and found out that he indeed had one. Hitting the friend request button, he closed the app. He just recently got the app because Armin wanted to snap him during class and he’s glad he did because Armin’s snaps were hilarious. He did it mostly during class and he would snap a pic of the teacher and draw something either near or on them.

After playing trivia crack for a couple rounds, he went to check if Levi accepted and he did. Eren then clicked to see his story and began laughing. The first video was of Hanji dancing to one of the songs playing in the café, she was holding a spoon and pretending to play it. It looked like it was taken right before he met up with him. The next one was a picture, it was of him and some blond guy, with the bushiest eyebrows Eren’s ever seen, with the dog filter. From the angle, it looked as though the bushy eyebrow guy took the picture. The next video was of him playing the piano, but before Eren could listen to it he clicked to fast and it went away.

“Ugh…” Not knowing he could just replay the story, he thought about texting him. He wondered if it would be awkward. Sure, they got to know each other but what would they talk about. It was easier to talk to him in person instead of over a text.

Sighing, he voted against the idea. He didn’t want to come across as weird. He got up from his bed and started to undress. Throwing his clothes into his basket, he grabbed some clean blue boxers with little atoms on them and crawled into bed.

He closed his eyes and tried to let sleep overcome him. Right before he fell asleep he got a text. “What now…” Groaning, he reached over to his nightstand and grabbed his phone. He opened it and saw it was Levi.

_12:27 am_

Levi: You awake?

Eren smiled, moving to his back he replied.

Eren: I am now

Levi: Oh sorry

Chuckling, he replied.

Eren: It’s fine :P what’s up

Waiting for the reply, Eren started playing trivia crack again. After about 3 minutes, he got his reply.

Levi: Are you free Tuesday?

Eren thought about it, he had class but he wasn’t sure if they had any projects or homework due. It was only the second week of school.

Eren: yeah I think so

Levi: cool, you want to come over after class?

Eren started to feel giddy, doing his little happy dance which consisted of him wiggling in his bed, he replied sure.

Putting his phone back on his nightstand, he got comfy and fell asleep with a smile on his face.

* * *

 

When Tuesday came around, Eren was surprised that he did, in fact, have a project. Walking out of his calculus class, he maneuvered his way through the crowded halls. He hated this part, he loved leaving class but he hated how everyone apparently got out at the same time and caused the halls to be full.

Moving his backpack so he could pull out his anatomy book, some random person bumped him and he ended up running into someone. The impact caused him to drop his book, the worst part was the person didn’t even apologize. “Jerk..” He whispered as he bent down to pick up his book.

“Eren?” Hearing his name, he looked up and found that the person he bumped into was Levi.

“Levi! I’m so sorry for running into you.” Eren stood up and straightened out his shirt. “Um.. what are you doing here?”

Levi turned around and faced him. “I have classes in this building.”

“O-Oh.. right..” Laughing awkwardly, he tried his best to will his body not to form a blush. From the way his face got hot, he failed.

“Is this your last class?” Levi asked.

“No, I have anatomy at 12 but that’s it.” Eren pulled out his phone to check the time. It was 11:52.

“Shit.. um.. I have to get going. Um, what time did you.. uh-”

“Well I get out of class at 1:15 so how about 1:30?”

“Ok!” Eren smiled and began to walk out of the building when he turned around to ask where when Levi shouted.

“I’ll text you.”

Eren smiled again and nodded. Heading towards the science building he began to run, how he was going to make it across campus in 5 minutes he didn’t know. However, he was determined to make it.

The next hour and 15 minutes went by slow. Talking about cells was the worst. Not because it was hard but because he already knew it and it was quite boring. The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell, got it.

After being dismissed he started to pack his stuff when someone tapped his shoulder. Turning around, he was greeted by a familiar face.

“Hey Eren!” Marco said as he stood next to Eren.

“Hey! Wait you’re in this class?” Eren stood up and started walking towards the door with Marco.

“Yeah. I thought I recognized you last class but you left in a hurry so I wasn’t sure.”

“Oh sorry.” He laughed. Knowing someone was in his class made it all more enjoyable, even though he sat near the front and guessing Marco sat near the back.

“I got in contact with everyone, they want to know what day and time is best so we can all get together.” Marco said as they walked down the halls.

“Oh right. Um well I’m free most of the time after 2.” Eren shrugged.

“Ok! Well I’ll let them know and we’ll set everything up!” They both laughed. “Well, I have to get to chem so I’ll talk to you later!”

“See ya!” Eren turned to walk away when he remembered he turned his phone off before class. Turning it on, he walked out the building and turned towards his dorm. He couldn’t wait to just lay in his bed and take a good, long nap.

Walking around the mob of people, he felt his phone buzz. Pulling it out of his back pocket, his eye widened when he remembered he was meeting Levi in… “8 minutes! Shit!”

He read the text from Levi and started to run towards the first dorm building. His dorm was, unfortunately, on the 7th floor.

Running around people was exhausted. Everyone was determined to get in his way and he had to jump around people and dodge a flying frisbee. When he finally made it, he dashed inside and found the stairs. Looking at the stairs he cursed himself that he hasn’t been running lately.

He began to run up the stairs, around the 3rd floor his run turned into a jog and by the 6th, a slow crawl.

“Stupid.. stairs..” Attempting to catch his breath, he opened the door to the hallway and checked his phone.

Walking down the hallway, he checked the dorm numbers.

“707.. 707..707..707!” reaching the correct dorm he looked at his phone and mentally cursed himself for not having enough endurance, he was 7 minutes late.


	7. Confessions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY! This chapter was so difficult for me to write! I had so many different idea's for how I wanted this chapter to play out. Every time I wrote something I would delete it :( but the next chapter should be up shortly since I already have half of it written out so i'll hopefully have it out soon!

As Eren reached the right dorm number, he began to mentally prepare himself. Never being able to make new friends was one of his cons and he surely didn’t want to show up out of breath like he just ran a marathon. He wanted to present himself well, especially in front of Levi.

As he lifted his fist to the door his hand froze. He heard music, like a piano was being played. He turned his head to look down the hallway to see if someone was playing something on their phone but saw no one. He turned back to face the door and realized it was coming from inside.

Moving his head onto the door so he could hear the faint sound better, he wondered if it was Levi playing. He smiled to himself, ‘of course it was Levi.’

The song sounded sad to him yet beautiful at the same time. The way the dark notes blended together like someone was conveying all their emotions into that piece.

He wanted to hear more, not just through a door. He reached for the door knob and realized it wasn’t locked. Opening the door slightly, he could see Levi playing his piano right in front of him. It seemed like Levi had the volume turned down and Eren didn’t understand why, he would love to be roomed next to someone who played as good as that.

He shut the door softly after he slid through and leaned against it. He could hear the music better now, plus he could see the way he played. He could hear the differences between each soft and hard note, the way the cords sounded like they were battling each other.

Eren could feel his body relax at the sound, even though he could hear it from Levi’s headphones. Smiling to himself, he saw the way Levi moved with the notes. It wasn’t just his hands, his whole body moved slightly. Swaying as if he was there just for the ride and his hands were the ones driving.

Eren found himself closing his eyes, wanting to enjoy every ounce of sound Levi had to offer. There was no note out of place, the tempo varied, the perfect blend of soft and heavy.

Once the music stopped Eren felt saddened by the loss. Opening his eyes slightly he wished Levi would keep going. He wanted to hear more, so much more.

“Eren?”

Eyes opening widely at his name, he looked forward and saw Levi turned slightly in his seat with equally wide eyes.

“Um.. uh I’m s-sorry. I heard you playing and I um.. wanted to hear it better.. I can leave if you want me to.” Eren shifted his gaze towards the ground then. He could feel his face burning from embarrassment. He never thought about what would happen once Levi stopped playing.

“No it’s fine, But maybe next time you should knock before coming into someone’s dorm.” Levi stated as he stood up.

“Y-Yeah.. sorry again..”

“I said it’s fine. Stop saying sorry.” Levi said as he stood a couple feet away with his arms crossed.

“Um.. what was that song you were playing? Can you teach it to me?” Eren asked.

Levi looked confused at first but then his facial features softened slightly. “It’s the first movement of [Moonlight Sonata](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT7_IZPHHb0) by Beethoven. It’s easy so I don’t see the harm in teaching you.” Levi said as he shrugged. “Would you like something to drink?”

“Um water would be fine.” Levi nodded and walked over to his kitchen area. While Levi was getting the drinks, Eren decided to look around his dorm.

Levi’s dorm was large compared to his own, well it was the same size but his didn’t have separate rooms. It looked like Levi lived by himself. There was a little room divider that went from one wall to the middle of the room. The main room had a little black couch right next to the door which faced the tv on the wall divider, on the opposite side of the room had Levi’s piano up against the wall and a side table (Eren guessed it held his sheet music), and to his right there was the kitchen area.

Just from looking at his dorm Eren could tell that Levi loved to clean. He snickered to himself when he thought about someone walking in and seeing Levi hanging from the ceiling while vacuuming so he wouldn’t get dirt on the floor.

“Oi, take your shoes off before walking in here.” Levi said as he brought Eren a bottled water.

Internally laughing at his previous thought. Eren took off his shoes and thanked Levi for the water. “So what do I learn first! Oh! Can I see your instruments! Do I need to learn sheet music? It looked like you played that song from memory, will I be able to do that-“

“Eren. One question at a time please.”

Eren stopped walking, “Oh.. right.. sorry.”

Levi turned back to face him and sighed. “Well, you’d have to learn the basics first, yes that includes sheet music. You can see my instruments if you want to and it depends on you if you can memorize songs.”

Eren smiled, “ok! When can we start!”

Levi motioned for Eren to sit on the piano bench as he sat down. Eren ran over and sat down while admiring the piano. It wasn’t a big piano like those grand pianos but it was big enough for a dorm.

Eren couldn’t help but feel nervous. He was only a few centimeters away from Levi and he wanted nothing more than to brush up against him.

Shaking his head to clear out those thoughts, Eren turned his attention towards Levi. Levi began telling him about the different notes, how the basic scale went C D E F G A B C in treble clef. Eren asked about H and the other letters and Levi told him that those just weren’t the letters for notes.

As time went on, Levi taught Eren how to play basic songs like twinkle twinkle little star and Mary had a little lamb. Eren didn’t actually touch the piano but he memorized which keys to press. Levi would ask him if he wanted to play but Eren denied each time. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, he was afraid that his father would find out.

“Eren. If you want to learn you’ll have to play.” Levi said after another attempt to get Eren to play.

“I-I want to.. but..” Eren didn’t know how to tell Levi he was scared. He knew he was being ridiculous but he was always told no and doing this went against everything he was taught.

“if you’re not going to play then I guess we can quit early.” Levi said as he turned towards Eren.

Eren looked at Levi with wide eyes, he didn’t want to quit now. He wanted to know so much more. Levi began to stand when Eren grabbed his arm. “Please.. I’m sorry. It’s just.. I was always taught that music was bad. I’m just scared that’s all..”

Levi lifted a brow and sat back down. “so you’re scared of the piano?”

Eren laughed, “no, I’m scared that my father will find out I played a piano. He would flip shit if he knew.”

Levi sighed, “here, give me your hand.” He extended his right hand palm down, “put your hand on my hand.”

Eren hesitantly put his right hand on Levi’s and Levi moved their hands onto the keys. He began playing a song with their hands while his left hand played other notes. Eren watched as their hands moved across the piano, the way Levi’s fingers dipped when he pressed a key. He didn’t pay much attention to the song, all he could think about was his hand on Levi’s.

“Now you don’t have to touch a piano.” Levi whispered.

Eren moved his gaze from their hands to Levi. He watched as Levi’s face softened as he played, the way his eyes darted from one hand to the other.

He saw Levi’s leg moving so he looked down and saw Levi’s foot moving from the right pedal to the left one. He didn’t look up again until the short song ended.

“What song was that?” He asked.

“That was [Fur Elise](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mVW8tgGY_w) also by Beethoven.” Levi replied. Eren noticed that even after the song finished Levi wouldn’t look up, he continued to gaze at the black and white keys.

“You sure like this Beethoven guy.” Eren said as he too gazed at the piano.

“Yeah I guess.”

Eren shifted his gaze to their hands again, he noticed that they were still in the same position. He began to blush, he wasn’t sure if he should move it or if Levi would move it. It wasn’t until Levi moved his hand that Eren was brought out of his thoughts. He blushed even harder at the fact that Levi moved his hand first, which in his mind meant that he should’ve moved his first.

“So if you don’t mind me asking, why aren’t you allowed to listen to music? Or play an instrument?” Levi asked.

Eren looked down and twiddled his thumbs around, “W-Well.. my dad never liked it, therefor I wasn’t allowed to listen to it or have anything to do with it.”

“That sucks.”

“Yeah..”

“Well if you ever want to play you can always come here. I don’t mind as long as you knock first.” Levi said as Eren laughed.

Eren looked up and smiled, “thanks.”

“No problem brat, I couldn’t imagen not being able to play. I’d probably lose my mind.” Levi said as he turned back to his piano.

“Yeah it bugged me at first but then I put all my focus on school like he wanted and I kinda forgot about it.”

“I’m guessing he wouldn’t let you do a lot of things?” Levi asked while Eren shook his head.

“I wasn’t allowed to join any sports teams or hangout with friends unless he approved of them. He let me hangout with my best friend Armin because he’s a genius and my dad hoped he would help out with my studies.” Eren shrugged.

Levi shook his head, “dating must’ve been rough as well with him huh?”

Eren stiffened at his comment. Levi noticed it but before he could say anything Eren beat him to it.

“I wasn’t allowed to date because I was already engaged.”

Levi looked at Eren in shock. “You were already engaged?”

Eren nodded, “yeah.. he chose my friend Mikasa and her parents agreed and we got engaged at 12.”

Levi shook his head again, “you don’t want to be with her, do you?”

Eren frowned, “no.. I don’t. She’s a great friend and all but that’s all I want us to be you know? It’s not that I don’t like her, I just don’t “like like” her. Plus, I’m not so sure I’m into girls..” he said the last part as a whisper.

Levi turned slightly at the last part, “you should really tell your dad that.”

Eren’s eyes widened and he shook his head, “he would kill me.”

Hearing that, Levi put his hand on Eren’s shoulder, “do you really want to be unhappy in life just to make your dad happy. I know it sounds shitty but it’s your life, not his.” Levi took his hand away and got up from the bench to move towards the small couch.

Eren followed and plopped down next to Levi, “but I don’t even know how to tell him. I mean, if you were gay how would you do it?” Eren asked as he looked slightly at Levi. He really did want the advice, but this was his sneaky way of finding out if Levi was gay or not. He mentally high-fived himself for his sneakiness.

Levi chuckled slightly and looked at Eren, “is that your way of asking me if I’m gay?”

Eren’s face dropped as a blushed formed. ‘shit’ he mentally smacked himself.

“Well I never knew my dad but my uncle wasn’t too thrilled about it. My mother didn’t care but my uncle basically shunned me and kicked me out. I was leaving for college at the time so I didn’t care, he can go screw himself.”

Eren went wide-eyed at his little story, “so you are gay?” Eren closed his mouth quick, he meant to say that in his head but it came out of his mouth instead.

Levi hummed while Eren mentally danced, ‘I might have a chance!’

Eren was snapped out of his thoughts by Levi sighing. He looked at Levi and saw how he looked like he was contemplating something. “You alright?” He asked.

Levi turned to look at him and replied, “yeah, I was going to ask you if you wanted to go out with me but I don’t want to put that kind of pressure on you.”

Eren couldn’t be more thrilled. He’s been wanting that since he met the guy. Yet he knew he couldn’t and so did Levi. Eren sighed, “I would’ve said yes if things were different.. but if things change.. would the offer still be there?” Eren asked hopeful.

“If? You don’t think you’re going to tell him?” Levi asked.

“I want to but.. I’m afraid. I know it sounds silly but-“

He never got to finish his sentence when Levi interrupted, “don’t. It’s not silly to be afraid. I went all throughout high school before coming out to my mom or uncle. It’s a scary thing.”

Eren smiled, it was nice having someone to talk to about it. He could always talk to Armin but.. wait why hasn’t he talked to Armin? He made a mental note to talk to him as well.

Before Eren could reply, Levi beat him to it. “So, until then?” he said as he smiled at Eren.

Eren smiled widely and nodded, “So… can I see your instruments now!” He asked as he was physically vibrating in his seat with excitement.

The rest of his time with Levi that day was spent looking and learning about different instruments. Levi showed him all of his instruments from his clarinet to his kazoo. Eren personally like the kazoo best because it was something he could play instantly. Levi let him have the plastic piece since it was giving during a band practice and he never bothered to use it.

Once Eren returned to his dorm, he placed the kazoo down onto his side table and crawled into bed. He didn’t even bother changing out of his clothes as his thoughts were occupied by a certain raven-haired man. As his eyes drifted shut, he felt his phone vibrate from his pocket. Grabbing it, he looked and found that he had two messages.

_9:32 pm_

Levi: Goodnight Eren

Eren smiled and replied goodnight. He felt as if nothing could replace this happiness. He finally felt free when he was with Levi. Like no one could ever chain him down. He felt like he could be himself with no one telling him how to live his life.

He couldn’t wait to see Levi preform on Friday at the café. Maybe he’ll bring Armin and the others, they did want to hangout and the café is a nice place to do so. He’ll have to text everyone and ask them their thoughts. Remembering that he had another message, he opened the messaging app and froze.

_9:29 pm_

Father: I’m stopping by this Friday.


	8. Pennsylvania 6-5000

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was thinking about this chapter all day! I just had to finish it.  
> Also I just wanted to thank everyone who left kudos and the comment! It means a lot! It's probably clear that i'm defiantly not a writer (English was my worst class *_*) and as I was looking back at the earlier chapters I could see the change in my writing. Even though i'm not the best I appreciate everyone for reading! Thank you so much!  
> I also recommend everyone to listen to the songs, I know it's not everyone's cup of tea but you'll probably understand better if you do! Just a recommendation, I'll try my best to describe it for you anyway.

The next two days went by as a blur to Eren. Studying and finishing projects took up most of his time. He barley saw Armin, being cooped up in his room the whole time. Armin would try and get him out but Eren would refuse. Even during their physics class Eren would be too focused on what the professor was saying to notice Armin, and that gave Armin a bad vibe. Eren barely focused in class, he would always doze off and study when he got back so him actually paying attention meant there was something wrong.

Tomorrow was Friday and Armin was determined to get Eren out. He would drag him out by his toes if he had to.

Knocking on Eren’s door, Armin heard no reply. He slowly opened the door and found Eren slumped over his desk on top of his notes. It was only 7 and Armin figured Eren was exhausted by all of his cramming. He tried to think if Eren mentioned something about a test or quiz he had coming up but nothing came to mind.

As he started to close Eren’s door he heard Eren’s phone going off. From the crack, Armin could see Eren jerking up and dashing for his phone. Armin didn’t feel the need to ease drop, he figured it was Mikasa, until he heard Eren say father.

Leaning in closer, Armin could hear Eren talking about how he had an exam to study for and that Friday was a bad time. ‘So he did have a test’ Armin thought.

The rest of the conversation was accompanied by ‘yes sir’ and ‘yes father.’ Once Eren said his farewell Armin knocked softly against his door and peaked through. “Hey.”

Eren turned around and smiled. Armin’s eyes widened at the sight of Eren. He had major eye baggage going on and dark spots under his eyes. ‘Just from 2 days?!’

“H-How’s it going?” Armin asked as he went to sit on Eren’s bed. Eren looked exhausted, mentally and physically. He looked like he could pass out any moment.

“I’m fine, how’s it with you?” He replied as he turned to look at his notes. Armin noticed how Eren just stared at his notes, his eyes didn’t wander side to side like he was reading, he just stared.

“Are you sure you’re ok? Have you slept much lately?” Armin said, his voice laced with concern. He got up and walked over to Eren and put a hand on his shoulder. Eren jerked slightly at the contact and turned to face Armin.

“Um yeah wait no. Um I’m not sure. Wait what was the question?” Eren brought a hand up to his head and squinted in pain. “Armin my head hurts..”

Armin helped Eren up and brought him to his bed. “Ok just lay down. I can bring you some meds if you want? How about some warm milk?” Eren just kept shaking his head side to side and groaning in pain. “Hold on.” Armin said as he rushed to turn off the light. He figured the darkness should help sooth his headache.

“Can you get changed or do you need help?” Armin turned around and saw that his question was answered when Eren threw his pants across the room along with his shirt and laid back.

Armin ran into the kitchen to heat up some milk, he knew sleep was important but he never saw sleep deprivation like that before. He saw people walking around like zombies and drooling on their desks as they tried to stay awake in class but he hasn’t seen this yet.

Once the timer on the microwave beeped Armin grabbed the mug and walked back to Eren’s room and found Eren sitting back at his desk reading his notes.

“Eren! Come on you need to get some sleep!” Armin sat the drink down next to Eren, “here drink this.”

As Armin talked, Eren didn’t seem to be listening. He just read whatever notes he took that day. “Eren? What did your dad say to you?”

At the question, Eren looked up at Armin wide-eyed but didn’t answer. “Let’s get you to bed and we’ll talk tomorrow.”

Armin brought the mug up to Eren’s mouth and motioned for Eren to take it and drink. Fortunately, Eren gave in and drank the warm milk.

Armin helped Eren to the bed once again and Eren immediately crawled in and wrapped himself under the covers. He didn’t trust Eren to leave him alone so he decided to sit in his chair until he fell asleep. He was right to make that decision, every once in a while Eren would turn his head and look to see if he was still sitting there and quickly turn away. He finally fell asleep after a couple minutes and Armin hovered over him, just in case, to look at him to make sure he was actually sleeping.

With a deep sigh, Armin walked out of the room and plopped onto the futon. He thought about what Eren’s dad could’ve said to make him act this way. He had decent grades and he studied quiet frequently, what was he doing wrong. Armin pondered the idea that maybe his grades weren’t good enough for his dad. He had all A’s but maybe his A’s were low A’s and his dad didn’t think it was good enough.

He made a mental note to ask Eren about it tomorrow. He thought about texting Mikasa but he didn’t want to start something if she didn’t know.

As if on cue, Armin heard his phone going off from his room and he ran to answer it. He picked up his phone and clicked on the green button.

“Hi Mika-“

“Armin! Where’s Eren?” She sounded distressed. Armin figured that Eren ignored her or said something to her in his delusional state.

“He’s in bed asleep. Why?” Armin was curious, he wondered if Mikasa knew what has been going on. She always kept in contact with Eren’s dad so she must know something.

He could hear her sigh in relief before answering, “he hasn’t been answering my texts or calls so I got worried. Mr. Yeager is coming by tomorrow so I wanted to make sure he was ok.”

Armin’s eyes widened at her response. Of course Eren would be freaking out if his dad was coming. “He’s been preoccupied with his studies lately, he hasn’t been sleeping well either but I just got him to go to sleep so ill be sure to tell him to call you tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Armin. Goodnight.”

Armin said goodnight and hung up. He wondered why Eren didn’t tell him about the arrival sooner but he didn’t dwell on the thought long. Feeling his own headache blossoming, he decided to turn in for the night.

Before changing, he wanted to check up on Eren once more to make sure he wasn’t faking being asleep. Opening his door, Armin peaked in and saw Eren still asleep in his bed. Armin smiled and walked back into his own room and prepared himself for bed.

* * *

Eren woke up feeling groggy, feeling as if he was hit by a bus. Groaning, he sat up in his bed and fell back down after feeling dizzy. He didn’t know why he felt so terrible and he didn’t know why he was in his bed.

He then realized that he went to sleep, and that it was Friday. “Shit..” he cursed as he rolled onto his stomach. He heard a light knock at the door and he groaned again. He heard the door open and peaked out from the pillow to see Armin.

“How ya feelin?” Armin asked. He could see the concern on Armin’s face and he felt like shit knowing that he was the cause. “Horrible..” he replied.

“Eren? Have you slept at all recently?” He didn’t notice Armin move from the door way to his bed. He felt the bed dip and he winced as the bed moving cause his beginning headache to intensify. “No.. no twime to sweep..” he said threw the pillow.

He heard Armin giggle and felt Armin maneuvering his hand under Eren’s chin. Armin moved Eren’s head so he wasn’t buried in his pillow and press the back of his hand to his forehead while his other hand went to his own.

He saw the frown on Armin’s face and sighed. He didn’t want to worry Armin, he had so much to worry about and now he had to worry about him. “Eren. I think you might have a fever.” Eren chuckled at his remark and tried to get up. He didn’t get far as Armin pushed him softly back down. “Armin please. I don’t have time for this.”

Armin shook his head, “Eren, you need to rest or you could get worse.” He knew Armin was right, Armin’s always right, but he didn’t have time to rest. He needed to prove to his dad that he’s doing what he promised he would do at this school, and that was to study and make good grades.

“I’m gonna go make you some soup ok?” Eren gave Armin a questionable look and replied, “soup for breakfast?”

Armin laughed and nodded his head, “I don’t know what kind of breakfast foods are good for sick people, soo soup it is!” He gave a thumbs up and walked out of the room. Eren laughed at his friend and thought about what would happen later. He kept telling his dad that today wasn’t good but he insisted that he come today.

Eren heard his phone ding and he reached towards his night stand and picked it up. He looked at his phone in shock when he saw that he had 28 new messages. Opening up his inbox, he saw that most of them were from Mikasa. Sighing, he replied to her.

_9:05 am_

Eren: Hey sorry I didn’t have my phone on me

Eren was about to check his other messages when she replied instantly.

Mikasa: Eren you had me worried sick. Are you ok?

Eren: yes im fine

Eren then checked his other messages and found that Levi texted him.

_Wednesday 4:24 pm_

Levi: Hey brat

_8:33 pm_

Levi: ?

_Thursday 6:57 pm_

Levi: Everything alright?

Eren smiled at the messages, he was somewhat glad Levi was concerned about him. It made him feel good inside that Levi cared.

_9:09 am_

Eren: Hey! Sorry I was busy studying :( oh and good morning

He sat his phone near his side and sighed. If he was sick then he wouldn’t be able to go see Levi play. That saddened him, he was looking forward to going.

He heard his phone go off and he excitedly picked it up only to find that it was Mikasa.

_9:12 am_

Mikasa: I heard from Armin that you have a fever. Should I tell your dad?

Eren thought about it, if Mikasa told his dad then he would believe her. If he told him, well, he might not.

Eren: Could you?

Mikasa: of course

Eren: thanks

Once he put his phone back down, Armin walked in with a bowl in his hand. He walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed. “We didn’t have chicken noodle.. but we did have tomato. I hope that’s ok, if you want I could make a grilled cheese with it?” Eren laughed and shook his head, “no that’s ok. Thanks Armin.”

Armin smiled and waited until Eren sat up to hand him the bowl. As Eren started eating, Armin was about to get up when he saw Eren’s phone ding and he glanced at the name Levi. He smiled wickedly and turned towards Eren who was already staring at him in horror.

“Eren, who’s Levi?” He asked in his innocent-but-not-so-innocent voice.

“Um.. just a friend.” Eren chuckled nervously. Armin studied Eren’s face and smiled. “So is this the friend you went to study with the other day?” Armin asked as he leaned in closer.

Eren blinked and averted his eyes. Armin could see the blush from his cheeks to the tips of his ears. “I knew it!” Armin said as he fist pumped.

“K-Knew what!” Eren said. Armin just turned to him and smiled widely. “Oh nothing~ but you know you can always talk to me if you want.”

Eren pondered over the idea. He knew he could, but he didn’t know if he should? ‘Does that even make sense?’ He thought, but he didn’t care. He was sick so who cares if he makes sense or not. He wondered if Armin had any advice. He always knew the answer to things. He then sat his bowl on his nightstand and turned to Armin.

“Actually.. um.. can we talk?” Armin jumped to the middle of the bed and sat with his legs crossed, giving Eren his full, undivided attention.

“So.. I really like this guy and he likes me to but nothing is going to happen as long as I’m still with Mikasa.. What do I do?” he felt nervous under Armin’s gaze, he could tell Armin was thinking but from his expression it didn’t seem good.

“Well, you could always tell Mikasa. I’m sure she would understand, and until you feel comfortable you can tell your dad later.” Eren shot Armin a ‘Do you think I’m crazy’ look while Armin laughed.

“Tell Mikasa! Really! She would freak and tell my dad and I would be forced to leave and be locked in the basement for the rest of my life!” He said as he fell back onto his pillow dramatically. He peaked at Armin and laughed, “Armin, you know I can’t take you seriously when you make a face like that.”

Armin was looking at Eren with such a sassy face that Eren couldn’t stop laughing. “Really Eren. He’ll lock you up in the basement.”

“You never know!” Eren countered. Armin sighed, “I think Mikasa would understand. I’m sure she feels the same way you do about the whole situation.”

“You’ve seen the way she acts around me! I’m pretty sure she’s content with our arrangement.” He crossed his arms and pouted.

“I think she’ll want you to be happy, if she knew that you wouldn’t be happy with her then she would change that.”

Eren thought about it, he guessed Mikasa did want him to be happy. If he was going to tell her he would need to wait for the right moment.

Armin then clasped his hands together and gave Eren a determined look. “Good luck!” Eren laughed and playfully shoved Armin back. They both laughed until Armin spoke up again. “Thanks for talking to me Eren.”

“Thanks for listening.” Armin then reached over and patted Eren’s knee, “no problem.” Eren laughed again until he grabbed Armin’s hand. “Armin! Don’t you have class today!” Armin smiled and took back his hand, “Yeah, but I was worried about you so I skipped, no biggie, I asked Ymir to take notes for me.”

Eren felt bad for Armin skipping class because of him, but he felt happy he was there. “Alright! I’ll let you rest. I’ll be in the other room if you need me. Oh! Ill be out tonight with everyone, will you be ok here by yourself?” Eren nodded and Armin walked out while closing his door.

He then picked up his phone and read the message.

_9:19 am_

Levi: Oh ok. Good morning to you as well. You still up for tonight?

Eren stared at the message debating if he should go or not. He really wanted to and he really wanted to see Levi.

_9:42 am_

Eren: Of course! I’ll be there!

Eren laid back onto the bed and started playing games on his phone. Every once in a while throughout the day Armin would come in and check up on him. He fell asleep again around 3 and woke up when Armin told him he was leaving. He didn’t pay attention to the time when Armin woke him up and he fell back asleep.

As he opened his eyes, he noticed how dark it got outside. He contemplated on whether it was just rainy or it was late. His eyes widened and he check his phone for the time, 8:35. “Shit!” He yelled as he bolted up from the bed and into the bathroom. He only spent 5 minutes shower, scrubbing down as fast as he could.

Turning off the water, he ran back into his room and opened his closet. He didn’t want to spend too much time picking out something so he grabbed his ripped black skinny jeans and a plain white t-shirt. He put on his shirt and pants before running to find his shoes when he stopped and readjusted himself, he put his shirt on backwards and his pants without boxers. After fixing himself, he put on his black converse and checked himself in the mirror. After deeming himself presentable he grabbed his keys, wallet, and phone before running out the door.

By the time he got to the café, he had 2 minutes to spare. Walking in, he looked for a place to sit. The place was crowded and instead of finding a no-existing seat, he leant against the counter and waited. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Petra.

“Hey Eren!” she smiled sweetly.

“Hey Petra. You work here?” he asked. She nodded and pointed towards the stage, “I’m also preforming tonight.”

He cocked his head to the side and replied, “Really? What are you doing?”

Before she could respond to him a bunch of people got up on the stage, “Welp, I gotta go! I hope you enjoy!” She said as she ran towards the stage.

A tall, blond haired man stepped up to the mic and began talking, “How is everyone doing tonight!”

The crowd cheered in response. Eren was looking among the band members when he saw Levi standing in the back with Hanji. He made eye contact with him and apparently Hanji as well for she bounced up and down waving. Levi shook his head and put a hand on her shoulder, keeping her planted on the ground. Eren then noticed there were a lot of players, 10 if he counted right.

“Alrighty guys and gals, were gonna start this show off with [Pennsylvania 6-5000](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OUkNOwpXtc)!” The crowd then screamed at what the blond man said. He saw the man grab a saxophone and stand next to Hanji, who also had a saxophone. He looked at Petra and noticed she had a trumpet. Levi had his clarinet and stood next to the man and started to mouth some words.

Before he knew it, the trumpets went off blaring. The Saxophones joined in and they began playing a catchy tune. The saxophones began playing by themselves before a small bell went off. When it did, everyone including the crowd shouted, “PENNSYLVANIA 6-5000!”

The same tune began playing again until the bell went off again and Eren decided to join the crowd with shouting. After that, the trumpets began playing a different tune. He could see Petra leading the other trumpets until the saxophones joined in again. He looked towards Levi and saw he was playing too but he couldn’t quite hear him.

The bell went off again and the crowd screamed again, and Petra played the trumpet part by herself. Eren clapped and cheered just like the rest of the crowd. She seemed to notice and winked at him. He laughed and continued to listen as the other trumpets joined in. Then it was Hanji’s turn to have her solo, she began playing her saxophone with style. He could see the way she played was different from everyone else’s except Levi. They both swayed as they played.

The saxophones played the familiar tuned again and the bell went off. Eren was about to chant again but the words they shouted were different this time. Everyone shouted “PENSYLVANIA 6-5 O O O!”

Eren laughed and clapped his hands. He then heard Levi’s clarinet and he smiled even wider when he saw him looked straight at him. He didn’t realize he was dancing until he almost bumped into someone. He was so into the music that he didn’t notice a certain someone enter the café.

Someone’s hand grabbed his shoulder and swung him around. He was about to yell at the guy until he looked at his face. Eren’s heart clenched and he felt absolute fear spread throughput his veins.

“H-Hello father.”


	9. Grey skies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm soo sorry for the long wait! I always say it wont take long but it always happens :'( I've had so much school work lately it's driving me crazy!

Before he was able to react, his father dragged him out of the café. He could hear the applause from the crowd and silently cursed when he realized that his father could hear it too.

Once they were both outside, his father pushed him against the brick wall of the neighboring store and glared at him. Eren tried to speak but the dangerous glint in his father’s eyes told him not to.

They stood there staring at each other for a good 5 minutes. Eren, frozen to his spot, opened his mouth when his father put up a hand signaling him to not. He saw his father take in a deep breath and rub his temples, the sight maybe him assume the worst. He didn’t want to leave SU and this incident might be his ticket back home.

“Eren. Go back to your dorm and pack. Now.” His father said in a deep, commanding voice. Eren was visibly shaking then, from anger and fear. He was afraid of his father and yet he was angry that he came even though he said not to. “F-Father please.. it was just one time. It wont happen again I swear-“

“No excuses. I told you my rules and this is what you do? You go out and disobey me? You even lied to me! Were you even sick? Is this why you didn’t want me coming up here.” His father said as he took a step forward.

Eren backed up as close to the wall as possible. “N-No sir.. you don’t understand-“

“Then please Eren, enlighten me. Tell me why I don’t understand.” His father said.

Eren tried to find the right words to say but nothing came to mind. His couldn’t think at the moment. He wanted to tell the truth but he knew the truth would get him into deep trouble yet he also knew not to lie.

As he opened his mouth another voice interrupted him. “There you are Eren.” Eren turned to see Levi standing a couple feet away from them. His father looked Levi up and down with a scowl on his face. “And who might you be?” His father asked in a not-so-pleasant tone.

Levi turned slightly to look at the taller male before stepping up to him. “Levi Ackerman.” He said as he extended his hand. “Grisha Yeager.” His father replied as he shook his hand.

Grisha stepped back and looked over Levi again, “Are you related to-“

“Yes, my mother is Kuchel Ackerman.” Levi interrupted.

His father seemed to like his answer since his frown curved upward slightly. “Well, tell your mother that her men’s suits are incredible. All my suits are from her.” His father said as he seemed to forget the entire Eren situation.

“I’ll be sure to mention it, she likes to hear feedback from customers.” Levi informed.

Grisha then turned back to face Eren, switching his gaze between the two males. “Are you the reason why my son was here tonight?”

“Yes, I thought it would be good for his health if he got out since he’s been studying a lot lately.” Levi said with a bored expression.

“Good for his health? I’m sure he was just fine.” Grisha said as he noticed Levi’s expression. “With all due respect sir, I thought it would be good for his mental health. Studying too much can cause a lot of problems like anxiety or stress.”

“You seem to know much about that. What’s your major?” Grisha asked.

“Psychology.” Levi replied.

Grisha smiled at his answer and turned to look at Eren. “Are you studying with this young man Eren?” Eren nodded, “I’m glad you found a study partner that knows what he’s talking about. However, I do not want you coming out to places like this. Next time go to a library or something.”

“Yes father.” Eren said as he gazed at the ground. Grisha nodded and turned back to Levi, “we must be heading back now. It was nice to meet you. Come Eren.”

“Yes father.” He said as he began to walk behind his father. Eren turned his head to look back and smiled. Levi nodded his head and walked back into the café.

They walked back to the dorms in silence. Eren was happy for it so he could think, he had many questions. He didn’t understand how his father knew where he was. He thought about Mikasa but he didn’t tell her he was going to be here, in fact, he didn’t tell Armin that either. He just up and left. ‘How did he know..’ he thought to himself.

He then began to think about Levi and all the questions he had for him. He thought Levi was a music major? Didn’t he ask him about it? Maybe he didn’t? And who was his mother? ‘Ugh..’ Eren groaned softly and ran his hand through his hair. Why did he lie?

“Eren.” His father said, bringing him out of his thoughts. “Yes father?” he replied in a soft voice, afraid of the next sentence.

“I’ll let this.. mistake.. slide. I do not want this happening again do you understand.” Eren looked at the back of his head and replied, “Yes father..”

“It was a good thing I stopped by at your dorm. I would have never found out if you didn’t write about this on your monthly schedule.” Eren’s eyes widened as he silently cursed himself for being so stupid and forgetful.

They continued their walk until they got to the parking lot. His father walked to his car and opened the door and got in. Eren waved but his father didn’t spare him a glance as he pulled out and drove onto the road.

Eren sighed as he made his way back to his dorm. As he opened the door from the stairs to the main hall of his floor he saw Armin walking back as well. “Armin!” Eren called as he jogged over.

“Eren? What are you doing out of bed?” Armin asked, “sorry.. I went out for some air.” Armin nodded and opened the door. They both walked in and saw Mikasa sitting on their futon reading a magazine. She looked up once the door shut and ran to Eren. “Eren! Are you ok? Your father asked me where you were and I thought you were here but you weren’t!” She grabbed his arm lightly and looked up at him. He sighed and shook her off, “I’m fine Mika. I’m going back to bed.”

He didn’t wait for their responses and walked into his room, shutting the door behind him. He turned off his light and flopped on his bed, closing his eyes to attempt to sleep.

* * *

Eren groaned when his phone went off, picking it up he saw that it was almost 2 in the morning. He wasn’t all that upset since it was Levi who was calling him. “Hello..?” He answered, he mentally cursed himself for sounding groggy.

“Did I wake you?” Levi asked, “Yeah.. but that’s ok. What’s up?” Eren replied. “Are you busy right now?” Eren wondered why Levi would be asking him that at 2 in the morning but he didn’t really care, it was Levi after all. “No, why?” He heard Levi chuckle before replying, “Meet me in the parking lot. I want to show you something.” After that he hung up.

Eren stared at his phone in disbelief until he dashed out of bed and into his closet. After a minute decided what to wear, he put on some black sweatpants and a white long-sleeved shirt with his regular converse.

He then grabbed his keys and phone before opening his bedroom door. Peaking out, he saw Armin asleep on the floor while Mikasa was asleep on the futon. He groaned softly at Mikasa still being there, he’ll have to be a ninja to sneak past her. Closing his door as silently as he could, he sneaked towards the door. As he was inches away he cheered in his head at his sneakiness until he almost had a heart attack as a hand grabbed his shoulders.

He turned around quickly to see who it was and it was, of course, Mikasa. “Eren, where are you going?” she whispered. Eren was thankful she whispered it instead of waking Armin, except now he had to come up with an excuse. “Umm… I couldn’t sleep so I’m going out for some air.”

“Eren. You shouldn’t be going out this late.” Mikasa said as her mothering instincts kicked in. Eren groaned again before responding, “I’ll be fine ok? I’ll be back soon.” She nodded her head as Eren walked out the door.

As he walked down the stairs he couldn’t help but feel guilty. He felt bad for lying to her but he knew he couldn’t tell her the truth, at least not yet anyway. He didn’t want to hurt her feelings yet he knew he couldn’t go along with their arrangement much longer.

Walking out of the building, he searched for any signs of Levi as he walked towards the parking lot. He searched his surroundings carefully, he didn’t want to be abducted or anything. Before he gave up his search he heard his name being called. “Eren!” He turned around and saw Levi walking towards him.

“So what’s so important that you had me come out here at 2 in the morning?” Eren asked as they both met up. “Follow me and you’ll find out.” Levi said as he began to walk towards a set of trees. “You’re not gonna kill me and steal my organs, are you?” Eren asked as he slowed his pace, “Now why would I do that?” Levi inquired, “Follow me and you'll fine out," sounds kinda creepy.” Eren said as Levi turned his head and gave him, what Eren would call, a ‘really.’ face. Eren laughed and followed him into the tiny forest.

They walked for about 10 minutes in a comfortable silence. Eren swore the forest looked small but it went back far. He enjoyed the view of the moonlight shining through the trees, illuminating all around them.

After a couple more minutes of walking, Levi pushed past a bush and stopped. “Levi? Why’d ya- woah.” Eren stepped out past the bush and stopped. The scene he saw was too gorgeous to be in a city like this.

In the middle of this forest was a lake, Eren stepped towards the waters edge and marveled at the sight. The water sparkled as the moons reflection casted upon the lake. The water rippled as the wind blew, making the lake dance it’s own special dance.

“Well I guess it’s time to cut out your organs.” Levi said behind him, Eren turned around quickly as Levi chuckled, “I’m kidding.” Eren punched his arm as Levi walked towards the water and sat down. “That’s soo not funny.” Eren said as he sat down next to him. Levi shook his head and replied, “I think it’s funny you thought I would do that.”

Eren laughed as he took his shoes off, digging his feet into the sand. “So.. about earlier..” Levi sighed, “I’m sorry for asking you to come out to the show. I didn’t expect your dad to show up. You ok?” Eren sighed and nodded his head, “I’m glad I got to see you preform, plus it’s thanks to you that I didn’t get into that much trouble. By the way… who’s your mom? And I thought you were a music major?”

Levi turned to look at him before replying, “My mother is a clothing designer, your dad bought suits from her I guess. Also, I used to be a psychology major but I switched to music. I just said psychology because I knew your dad would shit himself if I said music.” Eren laughed at his statement, “So there’s still a lot I don’t know about you then.” Eren said as he leaned his head on his knees.

“I only tell you what you ask about.” Levi said as he picked up a rock and threw it into the water. Eren watch as the water moved and smiled, “can I ask about your mother? Or would that cross the line.” Eren asked as he looked at Levi.

Levi sighed before nodding, “ask away.” Eren smiled and thought about what he wanted to ask. From Levi’s reaction, he could tell that it was a sensitive subject. “What’s your mother like?”

Levi stayed quiet for a while before answering, “she’s a wonderful woman and an even greater mother. She always took care of me when she should’ve been taking care of herself.”

Eren smiled, “she sounds like a lovely person. Do you talk to her often?” Levi looked down at the water before answering, “no. my uncle wont let her have contact with me, but she still sends me letters here and there. I would write back but she probably wouldn’t get them.”

“I’m sorry..” Eren followed his gaze towards the water. He felt bad that he asked but at the same time it made him feel closer to Levi in a way. “Don’t be. She’s the reason I am who I am today. She convinced me to be myself and I’m thankful to her for that.” Eren nodded, “what’s your mother like?”

Levi turned to look at Eren when he noticed tears in his eyes, “hey if you don’t want to talk about her it’s fine.” Levi put a hand on his shoulder. He wasn’t all that good would cheering people up but he’s seen Hanji do this to Petra so he assumed it worked.

“My mom was awesome. I couldn’t remember I time she wasn’t wonderful. When I would cry she would bake me cookies and let me eat some of the dough before she put it in the oven. She was always so happy and cheerful, even my dad was a different person when she was alive,” Eren wiped his eyes and sniffled, “but then she got real sick. We didn’t know what was wrong, my dad tried his best to help but nothing he did worked. Once she passed, everything changed. The house became empty, cookies never tasted the same, even her pictures seemed different.”

“Is that why your dad is pushing you into the medical field?” Levi asked. Eren thought about his question, maybe that was the reason his father wanted him to become a doctor. He couldn’t do anything so now he’s trying to fix his mistake by having him become a doctor. “Maybe..” Eren responded.

“Do you think that’s what your mother wants?” Eren turned his head to face Levi, “I think any mother would want their child to be happy. But that’s just my opinion.”

“B-But I am happy!” Eren said as Levi cocked a brow, “Are you sure?”

Eren stared at Levi, unable to answer. He knew he wasn’t happy but he couldn’t saw that he wasn’t happy. Sure he’s said it before but if it makes his dad happy then shouldn’t he be happy? Marrying Mikasa should make him happy because it makes her happy. Everything he’s doing makes others happy, so why isn’t he happy?

“You know, Duke Ellington once said, “Grey skies are just clouds passing over.” Levi said as he picked up another rock and skimmed it across the water. Eren stared, waiting for the next part but it never came. “What does that have to do with this?” Eren asked a little irritated. Levi chuckled and replied, “what do you think it means?”

Eren sighed loudly, “I don’t know! That clouds move?”

Levi shook his head, “I believe it means that sadness is like a grey sky, yet someday the clouds will disappear, leaving a beautiful blue sky in its wake. You might be sad now, but that’s because your clouds haven’t passed.”

“How do I make them disappear?” Eren said in a small tone.

“That’s up to you, what will you do to get your blue sky?” Levi answered.

What could he do? All his life he had someone telling him what to do, how to live. Yet he never once told himself no. He never said no to anyone, he always obeyed. He walked through life with a grey sky, never seeing the beauty of blue. It was always his choice to push those clouds away, yet he never reached high enough to try.

Eren sat up and faced Levi with determination, “I don’t want to be a doctor or marry someone I don’t love. I don’t want to take some stupid physics class or anatomy class. I want to make music and play instruments and.. I want to be with you..” Eren exclaimed as he felt his face heat up.

Eren saw the slight blush on Levi’s face after his little speech, hidden under his bangs as he looked at the ground. Eren knew nothing should happen but he didn’t care anymore, he wanted Levi more than anything.

Taking the chance, Eren leaned in and gave Levi a peck on his cheek. Levi looked up at the action confused before shaking his head, “Eren-“

“I’m sorry! I just wanted to.. well.. um..” Eren turned his face away in embarrassment. How could he do something like that! Eren turned back around to apologize again but before he could allow words to leave his mouth, he felt soft lips upon his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what's everyone's favorite AU? I really enjoy mermaid AU's (hence my other story) and I was curious as to what you guys like!


	10. Just friends?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgive me! I'm sorry about the long wait! I've been sooo busy that I just haven't had the time to write! I promise though that I will try to be regular with updating.   
> I also apologize for the short chapter, i'll make it up to you guys with the next one!

Eren woke up to the sound of movement in the other room. Figuring it was Armin, he allowed himself a few more minutes to just lay in his bed.

Thinking back the to the previous night, he smiled to himself. He couldn’t get the kiss out of his head. How perfect it was to him.

He thought back to how the rest of the night went. They sat there talking about anything that came to mind. He would ask questions about music and Levi about his childhood. He didn’t really mind except that is was kinda boring.

After an hour or two (he never actually looked at the time), Levi walked him back to his dorm building and he waved goodbye. He would be lying if he didn’t expect another kiss but oh well.

“Eren! Are you up?” Eren made a weird noise signaling that he was indeed awake. Armin laughed as he opened the door, bringing in a strong smell of bacon. Smelling the delicious aroma, Eren shot out of bed and ran towards their small kitchen area.

“Don’t eat it all! Mikasa is coming over for breakfast!” Armin shouted as he ran to save whatever was left. “Mmfhgg” Eren mumble as he ran towards the couch with bacon stuffed into his mouth.

Shaking his head, Armin giggled and put the rest into the microwave to keep warm. “So what kept you out late last night?” Armin said with a ‘I already know so you can’t hide it’ look.

“If you already know then why ask?”

“Cause its more interesting to watch you blush and stutter.” Eren threw a piece of bacon at his friends response. Armin dodged it and laughed, “C’mon Eren! I wanna know!”

“Nothing happened! We just talked..” Nothing really happened except for the kiss, he didn’t mind telling Armin, but he knew that if he talked about it before Mikasa got there he would be a tomato and she would defiantly know something was wrong and he would never hear the end of it. “Fine. But I expect an answer later.”

Hearing a faint knock at the door, Armin walked to open it. As soon as Eren saw an opening he dashed for the microwave and took the plate of bacon. “Eren! No!” Armin said as he ran after Eren. They circled their small coffee table for a few seconds before Armin realized he could just jump over it, causing them both to fumble and drop the bacon. “No! my precious….” Eren screamed as he looked over the devastating scene.

Armin shook his head and turned to greet Mikasa. She ignored him as she ran to sit next to Eren, “What happened..” The look on her face was full of concern.

Eren turned towards her, “Why do you look so upset? I just dropped the bacon? I mean.. yeah it’s the mother of all breakfast foods but there’s no need to look that upset.”

She sighed and shook her head, “No Eren.. I meant about last night.” Eren mouthed ‘ooh’ and looked down and the mess on the floor. “Nothing happened. Dad just talked to me but it’s fine.”

“Eren-“

“It’s fine Mikasa, drop it.” Eren picked up the bacon and threw it away. “I’m sorry for dropping it Armin.”

“I-It’s fi-“ Armin was cut off by a door being shut. Sighing, he went to sit on the couch. “Something happened.” He heard Mikasa say, “being upset over nothing doesn’t sound like him.”

* * *

Laying back on his bed, Eren felt bad for how he acted. He knew nothing bad really happened, but he didn’t like how she tried to pry into his business. She cares, he knows, but that doesn’t mean he should just tell her everything. He only has a few more months to himself before he has to share everything with her.

His eyes widened as he thought about it, in a couple years he’s going to be tied to someone else. He thought about it before plenty of times but for some reason it feels different now.

Turning to his side, he held his pillow to his stomach and hugged it hard. Why does it feel different? It shouldn’t. He knew this was going to happen and he had so much time to prepare.

Was it because of Levi? Sure, he’s had crushes before but they never really went anywhere, so why was Levi any different. He chuckled at himself for smiling at his name.

He liked Levi, he knew it. Hell even Armin probably knew it. Was it more than a little crush? Who knows, yet he knew nothing would ever happen. Nothing could ever happen.

Just the thought made his heart sink and tears form in his eyes. They would never be anything but friends. He didn’t mind being friends with him, but he would always wish for more. If being friends is what they’ll have to be then that’s fine, as long as he could still see him or talk to him or listen to his music.

“Eren?” he lifted up his head to see Mikasa peaking through a slightly opened door.

“Can’t you knock once in a while.” He replied as he turned onto his stomach and pushed his face into his pillow.

“I’m worried about you.”

“You’re always worried.”

Mikasa sighed and sat on the edge of his bed. “Well someone has to. Will you tell me what’s wrong?”

Chuckling to himself, he shook his head. _Oh I’m just upset because I’m getting married to someone I don’t love that way and that I wont be able to have a relationship with this guy I like._ Yeah, that would go smoothly.

He could never tell her; the last thing he wants to do is break her heart.

“I’m fine Mika, I promise.” He mumbled through the pillow.

He jumped slightly as he felt a hand on his back, “are you nervous about April?”

Eren sat up and looked at her confused. “What’s in April?”

She looked at him wide eyed and sighed. “Your father moved the wedding day.”

* * *

This isn’t happening. This couldn’t be happening.

April! That was just a few months away! What happened to after graduation!

He walked around a building and slumped down to the ground. After Mikasa told him, he just couldn’t stay there. He needed fresh air. He needed to process what was happening.

_April_

He could feel the tears running down his cheeks. He wasn’t ready. It was too soon. He didn’t even have a chance with him, he never had a chance. Why would he think that within 4 years he and Levi could’ve been something? Why. It was a stupid dream really.

Sobbing quietly, he sat there and watched all the happy faces in the fields between buildings. Happy people playing football or working on their assignments or playing their instruments, the only care being late assignments or what party would they being going to that night.

He wished he could be like them. Living out his college years eating cheap take out and hanging out with friends without a care in the world.

Being with her would make things different. His father would make sure they got a dorm room together, he wouldn’t be able to hangout with friends or do what he wanted to do. He would be trapped in there as her husband.

Mikasa wouldn’t be the one making it bad though. Actually, he didn’t think things would change all that much if it was just her and him.

His father would make sure things would be different. He would make sure he never left the dorm. He would tell her to watch him closely, to make sure he didn’t fuck up. If he did the slightest mistake, his father would be right there to mess up his life even more.

His life was almost over now. Thanks to him.

“Eren?”

Eren turned his head towards the voice and saw Levi standing there with something on his back.

“Why re you crying?” he asked as he sat his bag down and sat next to him. Eren shook his head and tried to stand up when Levi grabbed his arm to hold him there.

“What’s in that bag?” Eren asked as he wiped his face.

“A guitar.”

Eren looked at him confused. “you have practices on Saturdays?”

“I don’t but some people practice on the weekends. One of the guitar players asked me to fill in for him for today but then he ended up showing up, so I got up early for nothing.”

Levi shook his head while Eren laughed. “It’s 11, it’s not early.”

“It’s early for me.” Levi deadpanned.

Eren smiled and fidgeted with his fingers. “You hungry?” Levi asked.

As soon as the offer of food was made, Eren’s stomach decided to become his own orchestra. Eren blushed a little and nodded his head.

“Then let’s go.” Levi held out a hand for Eren to take and helped him up.

They both began walking towards the schools’ gate, Eren following behind Levi. He wondered to himself if it was such a good idea for him to be hanging out with Levi. It was obvious Levi liked him a little too since they did kiss but he thought that maybe he should end it now before their feelings magnified.

Is he going to bring up the kiss??? Were they dating now?? Is this their first date?

Eren’s mind began racing while his heart began to palpitate. Did it mean they were dating? It couldn’t be, Levi knows that he’s engaged. He knows nothing could happen. that kiss should never have happened. Well.. Eren was glad it happened but it shouldn’t have! It shouldn’t!

Levi turned his head and noticed that Eren was walking a little far behind him. “You alright brat?”

Eren’s head popped up and nodded quickly, hoping Levi wouldn’t notice him blushing.

They reached the little café a couple minutes later and sat down at the booth they sat at the last time they both came here.

“Order what you want, it’s on me.”

“T-Thank you.” Eren picked up the menu and looked over all the breakfast foods. The pancakes sounded good but so did the super cheesy omelet with bacon and veggies in it. Decisions, decisions.

“Awww if it isn’t the little jelly bean! How are you Eren!” Hanji said as she sat next to Eren in the booth. Eren laughed awkwardly (the name jelly bean threw him off) “H-Hi Hanji, how are you?

“OHH im just peachy, what can I get for you two lovely’s this morning!” She said as she wiggled her eyebrows at Levi.

“I’ll have a coffee and a muffin.” Levi said as he handed her the menu.

“Umm pancakes please.” Eren did the same.

“Great! It’ll be out shortly!”

Eren laughed again and saw that Levi was staring at him. “So you going to tell me now or what?”

Eren sighed and nodded. “Um… my dad changed the wedding date..”

Levi lifted a brow and nodded his head, promting Eren to continue.

“Instead of it being after we graduate.. it’s in April..”

That seemed to surprise Levi. Both his eyebrows went up and he mouthed “oh.” Eren nodded and sniffled. “I don’t understand why he did it, or why he didn’t tell me about it, Mikasa had to tell me.”

The conversation died down after that. Levi tried to make small talk, but he could tell Eren wasn’t really in the mood for it.

What’s really on Eren’s mind is the kiss. He wanted to know where they stand but he was too afraid to ask. He was scared of the answer he might receive.

They ate in silence and once they were done they both headed back towards campus.

“Hey Levi..?” Eren said as he caught up to Levi. Levi hummed, signaling Eren to proceed.

“Um.. that kiss last night-“ Eren stopped, he had no idea what to say next. He forgot what else he was going to say. Turning pink, he added, “Nevermind! Sorry I didn’t know where I was going with that!” he laughed and wished a meteor would hit him right at that moment.

“What about it?” Levi responded.

“W-Well.. um.. was it just an in the moment kind of thing or was it more?”

Levi stopped walking and turned towards Eren. “if you’re asking if I did it just for the fun of it then no. I was going to ask you out but now I’m not sure if you would want to. So to answer your question; it meant more.”

Eren stared at him wide eyed and smiled. “You were gonna ask me out??”

Levi sighed and nodded.

“I would love to!” Eren said as he wrapped his arms around his shoulders.

“Aren’t you forgetting something.”

Eren’s arms slowly came back to his side. He was so happy that he did forget the main problem. They couldn’t go out, at least not now. “You’re right..”

Levi noticed his change in mood and bumped him with his shoulder. “That doesn’t mean we can’t still hangout. Cheer up brat.”

Eren smiled and nodded. He was happy Levi still wanted to be his friend, but he wished that they could share more kisses or hug or do things couples do. he really liked him and it saddened him that he’ll never be able to experience things people do with their significant other when they actually like each other.

“Hey there’s a little fair going on a couple of blocks away form here. You wanna go?” Levi offered.

“That sounds like fun!” Eren replied as they both crossed the street in the direction towards the train station.

 


End file.
